Angels
by Thundercracker
Summary: Transformers universe. With a brand new strategy the Decepticons begin to orchestrate world events. An exhausted Optimus Prime begins to contemplate his Autobots' role on earth. Are humans worth all the sacrifice? My first ever fanfic. Please be kind.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**Disclaimer: I do not own transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other Copyrighted material is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Flying high in the sky, a trio of F-15 jets, one red/white, the other blue/white and the third black/purple. They have been flying for the better part of the day. Over the vast Atlantic Ocean they keep a watchful eye for anything that appears on their sensors. The trio log into their memories any contact they encounter wether it's military, civilian or other.

"Flight lead, I'm still not getting anything on my sensors. Are we in the correct sector?" The blue jet says.

" This is flight lead, I'm sure we are in the correct area. We are following the flight plan as directed." The red jet's screechy voice replies.

" Then where is the increased air traffic we were breifed on? Astrotrain made multiple sensor scan missions just yesterday." The blue F-15 rebuttals.

"I know Thundercracker. I saw the sensor scans yesterday when he got back to base. I even analysed the data with Soundwave." The red jet responds.

" Hey Starscream, do the humans have an airbase or airport somewhere around here?" The black/purple inquires.

"Negative Skywarp. We are too far out in the ocean..." the red's speech gets cut short.

"Contact!" Thundercracker's voice yells out. "Multiple bogeys on my sensors. About 150 miles ahead, and above the clouds." He finishes.

"I confirm TC's contact, I got them as well". Skywarp confirms.

" As do I. We will approach from behind them and stay just beyond their radar range." Starscream orders.

With his two wingmates signaling their confirmation of his order, the trio of F-15s plot an intercept course and activate their afterburners. As the trio approach the contacts' radar range they shut off the afterburners and slow their speeds as too stay out of radar range of their targets. The triad can now see about a dozen aircraft flying in different formations.

"Starscream, I make out a couple of large planes with ten much smaller jets flying around them." The black jet says.

" I confirm Skywarp's scan. Two KC-10 Extenders with ten F-22 Raptors flying in escort." The blue plane adds in detail.

"I agree with both of you. This might the increased air traffic Astrotrain was picking up." The screechy voiced red jet responds.

"Hey guys." Skywarp interrupts. "I'm picking more contacts. Behind and below us."

"I see them too." Thundercracker replies

"Thundercracker, Skywarp. Increase altitude to the stratosphere, we'll be safe from their radars once there." Starscream orders.

The three jets pull up in formation. Near vertical they fly to the stratosphere to avoid being detected. Once there, they level off and scan the new contacts. The three Seekers also scan a much wider area, revieling even more bogeys. A arial armada was forming with every new contact. Curiosity was beckoning for more information.

"Thundercracker, Skywarp. I want more detailed scans of this new development. Both of you drop to lower altitiude and scan them. I want to know EXACTLY what's down there." Starscream orders

"And what of you FLIGHT LEADER?" Thundercracker annoyingly asks

" I shall provide overwatch so that you both don't get ambushed. Now get to it." the red jet replies

"Wow. I feel much better knowing you're looking out for my well being, dear brother." Skywarp sarcastically includes.

Thundercracker chuckles a bit at Skywarp's somewhat misplaced humour.

"Get to work! NOW!" Starscream annoyingly commands.

The blue and black jets turn over and drop their altitudes to scan in detail. At a low enough altitude both F-15s turn back over and spread out get a better sensor reading, staying just outside radar range of their prey. Both jets slow their speeds to let the contacts pass below them. Now that Thundercracker and Skywarp are in position the scan can begin.

"Flight leader Starscream, come in." A digital monotone voice says.

"Starscream here. What is it Soundwave? The red jet asks.

"New marching orders from Megatron: Rendezvous with him and guest at the South American space bridge. ETA: two hours." The monotone voice replies.

"What of our patrol over the Atlantic Ocean?" Strascream inquires.

"No longer priority. Rendezvous with Megatron and guest takes priority." Soundwave responds.

"Fine. We will be there. Anything else?" His patience wearing thin.

"Negative." Soundwave replies and cuts off communication.

The blue and black jets pull up to the stratosphere and get into posision along either side of their now annoyed flight leader.

"What do you scans show?" The flight leader asks.

"Forty aircraft we located and scanned, thats not including the dozen we first detected. Thats makes well over fifty planes in total. All flying in the same direction." The purple F-15 reports.

"What type of planes are they?" Starscream queries.

"New contacts are five KC-10 Extenders, fifteen F-22 Raptors, and twenty F-15 Eagles. They're following our first batch of contacts. All have United States Air Force designations. What are they up too?" The blue jet retorts.

"No time for that now." The screechy voice answers. "Our mission priority has been changed. Our glorious leader and his so-called guest are arriving at the South American space bridge in a couple of hours. We have the pleasure of rolling out the red carpet for them." He sarcasticaly finishes.

"I hope the guest is a cutie." The purple jet cheerfully says.

"Shut...up." Starscream annoyingly replies.

"I'm just saying. Geez...You really need a girlfriend." The silly voiced Skywarp retorts.

The red jet's tempature rises at his brother's misplaced humour. The blue F-15's laughing now clearly audible doesn't help matters. Starscream doesn't like being made fun of, and he can hardly take a joke either. This can make him an easy target for taunting which some Decepticons take advantage of.

"SHUT...UP!" The flight leader yells out.

The other two's laughter drops to a small chuckle and eventually regain their composure. Flight leader Starscream turns west toward the new priority. He is followed by his two brothers who stay firmly by his side. All three brothers, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp have flown and fought alongside eachother for millions of years. All know eachother's flight style, method of combat, and each weakness. Just a simple look at one's face and the other two know what he's thinking. Even in their F-15 jet mode they know what the other is going to do by simply watching a wing tip, rudder flap, or even a change in speed. They are the perfect trine.

Over the very thick canopy of the rain forest, the trio come to a clearing with a huge metal ring within it. The jets slow their speed and transform into their robot form just before they land. Starscream checks his internal chronometer. Only a couple of minutes until the Decepticon leader and his "guest" arrives. He looks around and sees his brothers walking along the edge of the clearing, scanning for would be onlookers. Starscream looks at the ground for footprints other than his or his brothers'. He sees that no other has walked around this area. His brothers report that other than some local wildlife, nobody else is here.

Their attention is suddenly turned to the huge metal ring with its omminous hum. Over the metal ring, clouds take shape and a vortex appears. Wind and dust spirals around the newly formed vortex and two shadows drop from it. The winds stop, the vortex disappears and the clouds disapate. The gate of the space bridge opens and two massive figures walk out to meet the trio. The first, a tall silver mech with glowing red eyes and a huge fusion cannon attached to his right forearm, Megatron. The second, an equally tall mech, purple coloured body, its left forearm a beam cannon with a wire going around the back, and its face is one gold glowing optic, Shockwave.

"Greetings leader. Care to shed some light on our being here to meet you and...your guest?" The flight leader cynically asks.

"Well Shockwave, looks like I owe you an energon cube." The silver mech looks at his travelling companion.

"What does that mean Megatron!?" Starscream demands

"I bet Shockwave here that you would complain only after we get back to base. I lost obviously." Megatron disapointly explains.

Starscream turns around and grumbles to himself. He feels a hand on his wing and turns his head to see who it belongs too.

"You failed me yet again, Starscream." Megatron says in a soft voice.

"We depart to the undersea base. We have a new strategy." The Decepticon leader bellows.

The Decepticons leap into the air and fly off to their base. The Seekers transform into their F-15 Eagle jet modes and escort the new arrivals.

Looking at one of many monitors before him, Optimus Prime concentrates his attention to events developing in the Middle East. Watching one monitor he sees a news reporter speaking to the camera. She talks about how the nation of Iran, one of earth's many nation states, has fired multiple missiles this morning. The firing was to test Iran's new missile system. It has a much longer range and much better targeting system than its predecessors. This event has highten the already fragile tensions in the region.

Prime turns his attention to some other monitors who are covering the same event. Different news repoters from different news agencies speaking and speculating about this current development and possible scenarios for action.

"How many different ways can you tell the same story?" The Autobot commander exhales.

He rubs a couple of fingers on his nose and hears the sound of aproaching footsteps. He then feels a hand softly touching his shoulder.

"Still talking to yourself?" A soft voice asks.

He places a hand gently on the one resting on his shoulder. "I thought I was alone."

"You're energy levels are very low. You need to rest my love." The female voice claims

"Elita, I have alot of things to do. With the humans at eachothers' throats, humanitarian efforts around the globe, and the ever present Decepticons..." Prime explains but is cut short.

"The world and universe can manage without you for a little while. You need rest..." Elita One pulls at Prime's arm. "...Come on, great leaders need a break too."

Both exit the room and to walk down the corridor. Two familiar mechs come into view.

"Ultra Magnus, Jazz. What do you have for me?" The red mech asks.

"Hi Prime. Magnus and I are here to relieve you for a while." The Porsche responds.

"Who told you to releive...I see." Prime says looking at his mate.

"Prime you need the rest. You've been working above and beyond for days now. Ultra Magnus and I will handle things for ya." The autobot second in command retorts.

Prime nods and gos to the elevator with Elita One at his side. Jazz and Magnus enter the Communications room and begin to analyse all the data coming in. For a few hours both watch the various holographic screens around the room. They log the most pressing situations as priority, other matters that are important but can wait are downloading into the room's various computers.

"Hey Jazz, looks like Decepticon attacks have been on a steady decline for the past few months." Ultra Magnus points out to his comrade.

"Lets see the data Magnus..." Jazz looks and examines. "You're right. Look at this too. Fleet Commander Seaspray along with Broadside report that Decepticon fleet movements have declined in the past year as well."

"Should we inform Prime about this?" Magnus asks.

"I don't think so. Lets wait until we have all the relevant data fully examined. Besides we have alot of other things to analyze too." Jazz answers while looking at all the holographic screens in the room.

In the massive conference hall of the Decepticon undersea base, many voices echo off the walls as almost all the Decepticons in the base are present. When Megatron and his entourage arrived at the base, he wasted no time to call an urgent meeting. All decepticons who are not currently working in the most crucial of base operations is to be present. On the well lighted stage, Megatron stands at the center. He raises his arms and the massed crowd hushes.

"Fellow Decepticons. Many of you may be wondering why I have been on Cybertron for the past month. I'm sure you're even wondering why we have declined our attacks on earth targets in the past several months. The truth is...I have been in counsel with Shockwave inorder to view our current situation here on earth. One thing is for certain, our current strategy and operations here on earth have lead to many failures. We have been formulating new scenarios with all possible outcomes. I'm pleased to announce that we have FOUND our new strategy. I will let Shockwave explain the details."

Megatron gestures to the figure standing in the shadows of the stage. The shadowy figure steps foward into the bright light of the center stage. Shockwave raises his hand with a small device cupped in it. He clicks the device three times and three massive holographic screens appear in front of the back wall of the conference hall.

"Our operations here on earth have failed because we are fighting two enemies virtually at the same time, and we have no clear strategic goals. Many operations have been centered on gathering energon from human facilities by means of brute force, which creates massive attention. Attention that the Autobots see and quickly counter alongside their human allies. This leaves us with much less energon gathered, and another raid must be hastly carried out. A raid that is full of operational flaws and leads to failure." The one eyed mech announces.

A voice from the crowd asks. "Then what are we to do? How do we get our energon?"

Shockwave answers: "Our raids must be carried out with subtlety. No more, as the humans call it _smash and grab_ operations. We find isolated energy sources and use those to make the energon we need. If we must get our energon from sources close to prying eyes, then we must be careful to avoid contact. If we are seen, we are to leave with what ever energon we have gathered. Protracted combat increases the loss of energon cubes by enemy fire. This must be avoided. Subtle is now the new mantra to gather energon."

Shockwave's speech is met with grumbling from the crowd, many thinking this is a sign of cowardice.

The combaticon Brawl stands up and points at the purple mech. "Subltety? So we are to move like human mice now? Avoid battle when our foes appear? If we do as you say, we will be showing cowardice in the face of the enemy. We will be laughed at!"

Many in the crowd voice out their support of Brawl's rebuttal. Some even going as far to accuse Shockwave of being a coward. The heckling gets to a point where the huge silver mech walks to the edge of the stage.

"SILENCE!..." Megatron yells out to the crowd. "All of you SHUT UP! Shockwave and I have been all over new tactics and strategies for the past month, running countless simulations, and comparing them to our current tactics...which are a complete failure. Many of you have been calling for new tactics for years. And now that we have them, you reject it outright..." he suddenly gets cut off.

"HA HA HA..." Starscream laughs out loud. "...You actually expect us to believe that being subtle and quiet, and runnig away will win us this war? HA HA...this must be the stupidest..." the red Seeker yelps as a sharp burning feeling suddenly impacts his chest, and he lands hard several meters from his seat. Thundercracker goes to his fallen brother. He kneels down and gently holds Stascream's head with one hand and covers the hole in his chest with the other.

Lowering his fusion cannon, its barrel smoking from the shot, Megatron looks at the now hushed audience. "Anyone else want to express their knowledege of strategy? Well...anyone? Good!" He looks at the purple mech who is completely unphased from the incident. "Continue."

"Yes Lord Megatron." Shockwave complies. "As I have said before. We are fighting two enemies at once during our battles here on earth. The Autobots and their human allies. The Autobots can count on the human militaries to boost their operations against us. We eventually find ourselves outnumbered and out-gunned..." He points to the three holographic screens which show various locations on earth, graphs, statistics, pictures of military vehicles, bases, and other relevant information."...We must eleminate the human factor from our future operations. With the humans no longer available to effectively support the Autobots, victory for us on earth is greatly increased. The Autobots also have another crucial benefit from the humans: They receive a great number of energy sources which they turn into energon. With that source of free energy halted or even greatly reduced, the Autobots' energon reserves would run out and be very difficult to replenish. They will have to cut their various operations on earth, which the humans would view negatively. The humans' support for the Autobots would fall, and the Autobots would become more alienated. With no more support from the human militaries, sources of energy cut off, and moral support almost non-existent, the Autobots will be on their own. Now we can strike them directly without any interference." Shockwave finaly finishes.

"How do we eleminate the so called human factor?" A cautious voice asks.

"We have the humans fight themselves." The purple mech responds and continues. "With the current tensions between various nation states, their faultering economies, civilian apathy toward their governments, racial tensions, world food shortages, natural disasters, and vastly diferent cultural and religious views, the humans can be swayed to fight eachother. Lord Megatron and I know where to start." The single eyed Decepticon says.

Megatron steps forward to the edge of the stage. " Astrotrain, Skywarp, Thundercracker, Mixmaster! Meet Shockwave and I in the breifing room immediately!...We begin our new strategy NOW!"

Both mechs on the stage leave through the nearest door. As they exit, the crowd file out together. Thundercracker carrying his unconcious brother in his arms leaves the conference hall, but is stopped by the Constructicon Hook.

"Hey TC. I'll take him to the infirmary for ya." He says putting his arms forward.

"Oh...yeah. Here ya go. Take care of him ok?" The soft voiced Seeker replies.

"Don't worry TC. I've fixed him enough to know what to do. He'll be good as new when you get back from our leader's mission. Good luck." The Decepticon surgeon says holding the red jet in his arms.

Thundercracker feels a hand on his shoulder and turns to see it belongs to his brother Skywarp who then takes his hand off. Both walk to the breifing room, wondering what the future has.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Disclaimer: I don't own transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Inside the briefing room, the assembled team of Astrotrain, Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Mixmaster await the first step of this new strategy. The door opens and Megatron with Shockwave in tow enter.

"Excellent..." the silver mech bellows. "...We can begin with our first step toward victory."

"So whats the mission?" Astrotrain inquires.

"You are all to go to the planet Traal. The people there have a secret that will be crucial to our overall strategic goal. They have something called: the Pool of Transformation. According to our records, whoever steps into this pool is transformed into whatever they wish. Our very own Rumble went into this pool and became a tree for some reason." The decepticon leader says with a tone of confusion at the end.

"How do we revert back to our original form?" The blue Seeker asks.

" Enter the pool again, and simply wish to be normal again. When you emerge, you'll be yourselves ." Megatron answers.

"In order to minimize detection, Astrotrain once you get close to the pool's position, cut your engines and glide, you will then land to a position two kilometres from the pool. Thundercracker, Skywarp, and Mixmaster, you three will jump out of Astrotrain while he is gliding near the pool's position with the equipment. Thundercracker, and Skywarp, you two will carry the containers and Mixmaster will carry the pumping kit." The one eyed purple mech. Speaks.

"Once you three have landed with the kit. Keep an eye out for patrols and sentries around the entrance to the Pool of Transformation as well as inside of it. Since our last venture at Traal, I'm sure the Traalicons will have it guarded. Take this with you, it's a jamming device which will render communications around the area useless.. Once you enter Traal's solar system, keep radio silence to help minimize dectection." Megatron explains.

"Any questions?" Shockwave queries.

The four adventurers look at eachother and shake their heads, each knowing what to do. Megatron and Shockwave nod their approval and the ensemble leave the breifing room and head to one of the hangar bays. They see the various containers bundled together along with the pumping equipment. Astrotrain transforms into his space shuttle mode and the three others load the kit into the shuttle. Once finished with the equipment, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Mixmaster board Astrotrain. He lifts off the floor and slowly flies into the huge docking tower. The docking tower rises over the waves,and the space shuttle shoots out.

Standing near the ledge, atop of one of the huge towers in Autobot City, Optimus Prime takes in the wonderful sight. The various mountains of the surrounding area, Lookout Mountain to the south is the most noticable since its actually a plateau, the almost tree covered valley with its river snaking htrough it, and a couple of towns dotted along the river. He stands with his hands on his hips, thinking, wondering, and contemplating.

_Why am I, why are we here? Does it even matter anymore? Are the humans worth all the scacrifice? _The Autobot leader thinks to himself.

The setting sun darkens the colours of the mountains and the trees below. The river's surface glows a marriage of red, orange, yellow and gold. His internal system registers a slight tempature drop in the air. The first sign of the coming evening. His attention is suddenly drawn to approaching footsteps and turns around.

"Hello my dear. I thought you were resting in your quarters." The pink coloured femme conveys.

"Oh, Elita. Can I help you with something?" The Autobot leader asks.

"Well...you can be resting like I asked before." She gracefully walks toward Prime. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing at all. Just alot of data to take in the past days." Optimus responds.

"Liar...Tell me, whats wrong?" Elita One rebuttals.

Seeing that his mate won't let it go, no matter what he says. _If I'm gonna confess to someone, I'd rather it be her. _Prime thinks to himself.

He turns back around and walks to the ledge again. "Im wondering why we're still here. I'm wondering if anything we Autobots do on this planet matters anymore. We've been on this planet for many years, and we're still no better than what we were when we awoke on this world."

Elita One walks next to her mate and wraps an arm around his. "You're contemplating our role on this world. You're thinking if we should continue our presence here on earth...aren't you?"

"The Decepticons still have a very strong presence here. I send my Autobots to help the humans with disaster relief, provide security for their delegates incase of Decepticon attacks, defend the humans themselves from the Decepticons, deliver medical and food aid for those in dire need. And what do my Autobots and I get in return from the humans?" He voices.

"What?" His femme retorts with a curious tone.

"We get shunned by them. It's been like this for a while now. We get shunned more and more every year. We fight the Decepticons and some humans get killed or injured in the crossfire, the humans blame us. I send my Autobots to help with food aid somewhere and that aid gets attacked, they blame the attack on our presence there. My Autobots help to rebuild or repair some war torn country, and humans attack us for it. We help with disaster relief and someone gets injured or worse, I get blamed for not being more careful or for not doing enough. It seems no matter what I or my Autobots do, its never good enough for the humans, they always find fault in what we do." The depressed Autobot leader explains.

"I understand that some humans might see it that way. But, does that mean we stop helping them?" The pink coloured femme queries.

"It's not just SOME humans, it's alot of humans that are seeing that way now. I don't know wether we should stay longer or find somewhere else to be our temporary home. I...question if what we're doing here is worth the sacrifice." Optimus says looking at the descending sun.

Elita One tugs on her mate's arm, "If ever that time comes, I'll support your decision no matter what. I love you."

Optimus smiles under his faceplate and looks at his love, "Thanks for listening. I love you too."

Both embrace and return to their quarters. Prime lays down on his recharge bunk, his power level nearing dangerous levels, and shuts down. Elita quietly walks out of their quarters and locks the door so Prime can recharge in peace. She takes the elevator to the ground floor, walks down the lobby and exits the residential tower. The stars show brightly in the clear evening sky, the cool wind brushes against her body making her slow down her cooling system to bring up her tempature. Elita One decides to go for a drive and transforms into her earth alt mode. The pink 2004 Mercury Marauder crosses one of Autobot City's bridges and rides off into the evening.

Above the planet Traal. Astrotrain begins to make his descent. His three passengers examine the data that was input into their palm pads before they left. Thundercracker looks and stores the coordinates and all relevant data about the Pool of Transformation into his memory banks. Skywarp analyses the straps that are holding the containers together, and tightens up where it needs. Mixmaster looks at the pumping kit and runs a couple of tests, satisfied that the pumps work he tests them for any leaks. With no leaks detected, Mixmaster gives his two comrades a nod of approval. Skywarp confident the straps are on tight does the same.

"Hey guys." The Decepticon space shuttle says. "We're approaching the target's position. Best get ready for your jump."

"Ok. We're gearing up." The blue Seeker replies.

Astrotrain cuts his engines and glides the rest of the way. Nearing ever closer to the coordinates, he opens one of the doors. His three passengers line up next to the open door feeling the rush of the passing air. With the kit secured, the trio jumps out. Controling their descent with their built in anti-gravity units, they make their way to the landing position. Looking back, Skywarp sees the purple shuttle getting ever smaller in the distance. The two Seekers dare not use their jet engines as the loud noise from the turbines will easily compromise the stealthy approach. The three Decepticons land with grace, with the exception of the Constructicon who lands with more of a thud. They check to make certain the equipment is firmly attached to eachothers' back. With reassurance, they make their way to the Pool's entrance.

Astrotrain lands at his coordinates, a couple of kilometres from the Pool of Transformation. All he has to do now is sit and wait for his friends to arrive. From his memory banks, he pulls up a program and begins to pass the time with a game of Solitaire.

The blue Seeker peaks at the entrance. "I don't see anyone there. How 'bout you brother?"

"I don't see anything either. I don't get it, where are the sentries?" The black/purple jet answers.

"Dunno. We can't stay here and play Trivial Pursuit. I'm going to the enrance." TC points out.

"Go for it. We'll provide cover." The Constructicon says.

With that, Thundercracker quick steps to the entrance, keeping one of his cannons raised just incase. From behind a large rock his two companions have their weapons ready and provide overwatch. TC reaches the entrance and peaks in, no one is seen. He signals the OK. The two soldiers run out from behind the rock and run quickly next to TC.

"I don't detect anyone beyond the entrance. The Pool of Transformation is just over forty meters down this cavernous path. Don't make any noise. You guys ready?" TC queries.

The other two nod in agreement.

"I'll take take the rear. You two watch the front." Mixmaster says.

The three make their way down the path, trying to keep the noise level to a mininum. Weapons always at the ready. The trio eventually make their way all the way down the forty meter pathway. They stop at the end, and formulate a plan to enter the cavernous room.

"Hey 'warp, can you transport to the other side? Mixmaster and I will enter a second after. That way we have the entire room covered in one move." The blue Seeker plans out.

"Sure thing." His brother happily replies.

"I'm good to go. Lets get this over with." The cement truck says.

The purple Seeker disappears in thin air and re-appears on the opposite side of the room. A second later his two friends enter their side of the room with weapons raised. They quickly look around the room and find no one but themselves. The three trooops scratch their heads as to why the locals didn't have anyone on sentry duty.

Instead of standing around and playing twenty questions, the trio quickly gets to work. Mixmaster sets up the pumping equipment, while the Seekers begin to unstrap the containers. With everything good to go, the pumps activate and the fisrt two containers begin to fill.

The blue jet goes to the cavern's entrance and stands guard. He looks around and still no one comes by. His brother stays in the cavern and keeps watch as the cement truck analises the pumps and the containers. He disconnects the first two filled containers and attaches two other empty ones.

Walking along the mountain's base two machines chat away.

"It still boggles the mind that a flesh creature and a machine can be in love." The pink transformer says.

"Yeah, and to have that relationship last this long and still going strong. I'm so happy for them." The green robot replies.

"It was quite the party. Those Traalicons can really drink, not me though. I don't think my system can take their drinks." The pink coloured femme retorts.

"Same here, give me energon anytime." She giggles. " Arcee, remember when Cliffjumper drank against Ironhide? I can't beleive that little red Autobot thought he could out drink ole' Ironhide." The giggling green femme states.

Arcee begins to laugh herself. "Oh primus, what was Cliffjumper thinking? He got so drunk he had the gull to challenge Ironhide to a fight."

"Cliffjumper threw the first punch and missed big time, and then trips over his own feet landing on his face. He passed out." Arcee's companion says while giggling.

"I don't think anybody will forget that one Moonracer." Arcee replies.

Mixmaster disconnects two more containers from the pumping unit. The two jets strap the containers into two bundles.

"Ok, all the containers are full. We're done here." Mixmaster states.

"Sounds good to me. Lets get outta here." Skywarp claims.

"Fine by me, lets go." TC says.

The three Decepticons attach their respective equipment to their backs and leave the cavern. They walk to the end of the pathway. The sight of two female Autobots stops them in their tracks. The two femmes look at eachother in surprise and then pull out their blaster pistols. The Decepticons drop their kit and scatter.

Arcee takes aim with her twin pistols and fires a couple of shots at the black/purple Seeker. Skywarp falls back from the impacts. She yelps and drops her pistols as the blue jet tackles and slams her to the ground. Moonracer fires a quick burst from her own blaster pistol at the Constructicon. Mixmaster jumps out of the way but a couple of shots impact his chest and collapses.

Acree quickly puts her feet to the blue Seeker's chest and pushes him off with all her might. Thundercracker hits the ground several meters away. He quickly gets up on his feet and sees the pink Autobot lunge at him. Arcee slams into the jet's chest and wraps her legs tightly around his waist. She punches him repeadetly, but the Seeker tries to block the punches with his arms.

Skywarp teleports and reappears behind the green Autobot femme. He fires his arm cannons at her. Moonracer lunges forward as the shots slam into her back, she rolls over just in time to avoid the metal foot of the Constructicon smashing into the ground.

Thundercracker grabs Arcee by the throat, she then grapples that arm trying to pry away.

"GET OFF ME BTCH!" TC yells at her.

He punches Arcee square in the face which knocks her head back. She releases her grip on his waist, which then he grabs her shoulders and throws her several meters away. Arcee smashes to the ground.

Moonracer, still on the ground points her blaster at her closest opponent and fires. Mixmaster falls back a few steps from the impacts and then crashes into the mountain's side from Moonracer's follow up kick to the chest. From the corner of her eye she sees the purple jet take aim again. She dodges his cannon shots by leaping to the air. Skywarp jumps back to avoid the quick burst from the femme's pistol. The femme lands in front of the Seeker and ducks to avoid his punch. Her sweeping kick knocks Skywarp down.

The blue jet looks on at the pink Autobot slowly rising. He takes advantage of her disorientation and blasts her with his arm cannons. The impacts spin the femme around and she falls back down.

Moonracer stands up and aims her gun at Skywarp's face. His optics open wide at the sight. The Autobot's attention is broken by the firm grip of a hand grabbing her shoulder, and is spun around. She makes a yelp as Mixmaster punches the green Autobot at full strengh to the chest. Moonracer lands hard on her back and slides a few feet.

The two Autobots fail to rise. The three Decepticons gather their wits and run back to the equipment they dropped when the fight started. They strap their resptective gear to their backs and fly off to the evac position.

"Astrotrain. Warm up the engines. We're on our way." Thundercracker radios.

"Confirm. I'm preparing for dust off. Any contacts?" The shuttle asks.

"Yeah. Two Autobots. We beat them, but we don't know if there are any others." TC explains.

"Then hurry up you guys." Astrotrain replies.

The three Decepticons land quickly next to the space shuttle. They load the equipment and jump inside. The door shuts and Astrotrain lifts off. The passengers sit down and catch their breaths. Mission Accomplished.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are owned by Hasbro. Any copyrighted materials used is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Ever since Iran's missiles tests, tensions have risen in the Gulf region. Increased flights from the Iranian Air Force along with the USAF and its long standing ally Saudi Arabia have made the airspace above the Persian Gulf more crowded. The aircraft of the U.S. Navy carrier USS Kitty Hawk patrol the airspace in the Gulf Of Oman. The Kitty Hawk has been re-assigned to support the USAF and Saudi aircraft and is steaming to the Persian Gulf.

Flying low over the waves of the Persian Gulf, a lone F-15 makes its patrol run. Planes from both sides crossing into international airspace is becoming commonplace. The jet flies ever closer to Iranian airspace, but is currently unnoticed. The F-15 Eagle dectects a small craft in the water and makes an intercept course. It roars over the small craft, and the craft's identity is confirmed as an Iranian missile boat. The aircraft getting ever closer to Iranian airspace catches attention from high above.

A pair of F-4 Phantom II jets of the Iranian Air Force have a fix on their low flying lurker. Both planes descend to an altitude just higher than the Eagle's. The F-15 makes an easterly heading and flies roughly parallel to the coast line. Both approach from behind and recognize the symbol on the F-15's wings, Saudi Arabian air force. Both F-4s lockon their radars onto the Eagle, but it still flies on its current easterly heading. The Iranian jets get ever closer until their target is almost at point blank range.

Without warning, the Saudi F-15 makes a split S maneuver. It turns over, dives sharply and reverses direction. The Eagle roars right underneath both Phantom IIs and ignites its afterburners. Both Iranian jets turn sharply, ignite their own afterburners and chase down the Saudi jet. After a half minute the F-15 shuts down its afterburners allowing the pair to catch up. Both F-4s catch up and re-establish radar lock on their adversary. The Eagle suddenly pulls up violently and loops behind the Iranian jets. Alarms ring inside both cockpits, which tells the pilots that their nemesis has them locked on its radar.

Both jets pull a hard turn and increase speed, but the Saudi F-15 is still right behind them. Another alarm sounds in their cockpits, MISSILE LOCK. Both Phantom II jets split up. The Eagle chases down the closest F-4 while the other F-4 turned hard and gets behind the F-15. The F-4 being chased makes another hard turn and fires off chaff. The Saudi jet roars right through the metalic flakes and retains its missile lock. The F-4 chasing the Saudi jet re-establishes radar lock and bears down on the Saudi.

Floating on the vast expanse of the Persian Gulf, the crew of the Iranian missile boat watches the arial ballet. The pilot of the chased Phantom II tries his hardest to shake off his pursuer. He turns hard, levels off and loops, but the Saudi Eagle is still on his tail. Yet another alarm rings in the cockpit, his heart sinks as he realises the F-15 has fired a missile. The missile speeds toward its target. The pilot fires off a couple of flares and pulls up hard. The missile ignores the flares and continues toward its prey.

The projectile impacts into the rear of the Phantom II and blows up both the engines. With the rear half aflame, the F-4 plummets into the Persian Gulf, its pilot failing to eject.

The pilot of the other Iranian jet has his eyes wide open at the horror of his wingmate being shot down. He regains his composure, and angrily chases the shooter. The Iranian gets a missile lock on the F-15 and fires off a pair of missiles. The Saudi jet turns hard back and forth, the pilot watches and can't beleive how maneuverable the F-15 is. His missiles are barely keeping their lock. The Saudi Eagle barrel rolls and turns even harder, this causes both missiles to break their lock and fly off harmlessly away. The Eagle dives and turns to avoid a burst from the F-4s cannon. The pilot pushes his jet to its limits but can't match his enemy's unparralleled maneuverability.

The Saudi F-15 gets behind the Iranian plane and fires another missile. Alarms in the cockpit alerts the pilot who fires off a few flares, and he throws the stick forward and dives his plane. He gains speed and pulls out of the dive, missiles still speeding toward him. The pilot makes some last ditch maneuvers, but is to no avail. The missile impacts and the F-4 Phantom II explodes in a violent fireball.

The crew of the missile boat stand in shock at the scene of both Iranian planes defeated at the hands of a single Saudi Arabian air force jet. One of the crewmen points to the port side of the boat. The Saudi F-15 Eagle is flying at wave top level, heading directly too them. A trio of missiles leap from its wings and bear down on the Iranian vessel. The crew run to their stations, but the missiles impact the boat before the air defence system fully activates. The resulting explosions rock the Iranian missile boat, and a fourth much larger blast rips the vessel apart.

The Saudi F-15 pulls up and increases its speed. In a near vertical clim, the jet slows down and levels off once it reaches the stratosphere.

"Objective acheived. I'm returning to base." The screechy voice says.

"Copy that, Starscream."

Walking north on highway 72 near South Pittsburg, a young woman reaches into her jean pocket and pulls out a cellphone. She checks the time, almost 4am. The clouds now cover the sky and a cool breeze passes by her. She shivers at the sensation, then her attention is drawn to an apporaching vehicle. She sticks out her thumb to see if the vehicle will stop and give her a ride. The pink coloured sedan drives by, and she puts her hand into her jacket pocket. She decides to stop at the town and looks for a motel. As she walks down the main street of the town a small car slows next to her.

"Hey babe." The passenger in the front seat says.

"Hey sweety, where you goin'?" Another passenger speaks.

She answers. "Just taking some fresh air."

The car stops and three men exit. They approach the young woman who has both hands in her coat pockets. _Oh great, bunch of drunken scumbags._ She says to herself. A firm hand grips her left arm and she turns to face its owner.

She quickly snatches her arm from the man's grip. "Treat all the girls you meet like that?"

"Hey babe, no need to be snappy at us. We mean no harm." The arm grabber replies.

He grips her left arm again, only much harder now. She grabs the person's wrist. Another of the men grabs her right arm and pulls it back. Her stress level shoots up drastically. The third drunken man grabs her ponytail and pulls back on it. She yelps at the sudden sensation of pain.

"Now thats no way to talk to gentlemen who just want to know you. You need some discipline my dear." One of the men says.

"Let me go a—holes!" The girl yells out.

Her head snaps to the side as a hand strikes her right cheek. The three mens' attention is broken by shinning lights. They lossen their grip on the girl as the high beam lights of a car blinds them. The girl decides to make a run for it,but one of the men quickly regains his grip on her right arm.

"She said let her go!" A voice yells out.

The high beams switch off, and the girl recognizes the vehicle, its the same pink coloured sedan that passed her on the highway. Two of the men approach the sedan while the third holds onto her.

"Who the hell drives a pink Mercury Marauder? Show yourself, flaming hero!" One of them shouts.

The sedan transforms infront of them all. The pink robot's eyes flash a bright blue and pulls out what looks like a handgun type weapon. The three drunks run to the small car and drive off quickly. The girl regains her composure and straightens out her clothes.

"Are you alright?" The pink machine asks.

"Yeah... I'm fine now. Thanks." The girl replies and walks away.

Elita One tilts her head to one side, wondering why she is just walking away. The Autobot transforms back into her vehicle mode and rolls next to the girl keeping the same pace.

"Those guys might comeback. I can give you a ride to somewhere more safe." Elita suggests.

The girl continues walking. "Umm, that won't be necessary. I'll be fine."

"Alright...just be careful." Elita says with concern, then drives off.

The young woman sits on a bed drying off her hair after having a shower. Her motel room isn't really fancy by any means, but its very clean and the room itself looks like it is being very well maintained. She turns on the room's TV and begins to get ready for bed. The screen shows the caption BREAKING NEWS, and the reporter announces that an air battle over the Persian Gulf resulted in two Iranian jets , and a Iranian missile boat destroyed by a Saudi Arabian air force figther jet has risen the tensions in the region to new heights. Hearing some noise outside she looks out the room's window. Its the same small car and its accompanied by a couple of full sized trucks. _Oh crap! How did they find me? _She thinks to herself. The girl quickly dresses herself up, and rapidly packs her backpack. She turns off the TV and the room's lights. She runs to the bathroom and opens the small window. The backpack is pushed trough first, then she squeezes herself through. The girl runs to the corner of the motel, peeking, she sees about ten individuals walking around. One of them yells out that he sees her, they get back into their vehicles and drive toward her. She takes off running at full speed.

The trio of vehicles catch up to her quickly. She runs down an allyway and exits to another street. Her heart beats so fast she thinks it might burst from her chest. The three pursuers still on her trail. She turns another corner, and stops suddenly as a car abruptly breaks in her path.

"Get in!" A female voice commands.

She enters the car's front passenger side rapidly. The pink sedan screeches its tires and drives off at full throttle. The vehicle chase goes through a few streets and ends in a darkened lot in what looks like a small industrial park. The pink sedan breaks hard and swings the rear end around so the front of the car faces the incoming vehicles. The door opens and the girl is thrown out. The small car and two trucks close in and block off the sedan's only escape route. The crowd of men exit and walk to the sedan and girl with hostile intent.

The Mercury Marauder transforms into robot mode. Elita One pulls out her blaster pistol and angrily stares down the mob before her. The girl on the ground simply looks on.

"GET LOST SCUMBAGS!" The Autobot femme commands.

The men pull out their own guns. The girl quickly takes cover behind the robot. Elita points her weapon toward the crowd and fires a couple of shots which impact the ground a couple of feet from the crowd. The men get startled and run back to their vehicles and drive off in fright.

"Pathetic." The pink machine says. "What is it with you and trouble?"

The girl looks on as the robot transforms back into a sedan. "...Thanks...again."

The car's front passenger door opens. "Come on, I'll give you a ride."

The girl walks slowly toward the sedan. "I won't hurt you, I promise." The car reassures.

"...kayyy." She sits in the seat, her backpack tightly held to her chest.

The pink Marauder heads east on highway 156, it's apporaching five am and the sun begins to rise. Elita's passenger just stares out the window, watching the mountains and the river pass by. The sedan pulls off the main highway and drives down another road that cuts through a tall pine forest. The sedan comes to a checkpoint, with an Autobot coming to the car. Two other Autobots stand guard at one of the bridge gates. The approaching Autobot, grey in colour and looks somewhat older stands infront of the sedan.

"Hi Elita. How was the drive?" The elder Autobot greets.

"Hello Kup. It was interesting to say the least. I gotta guest with me. She needs a safe place for a little while." Elita replies.

"I see that. Hello my dear. The name's Kup and I'm the security chief of this place." He happily greets the newcomer.

"Hiii..." Comes the tired voiced passenger.

Kup waves Elita in, and she drives over the bridge that crosses over the river below. Her passenger looks with awe at the awsome size of the city. Various Autobots go about their business, loading and unloading transport containers, others walking around, even a few going about in their vehicle modes.

"Don't worry, you're safe here. What's your name by the way?" The pink sedan asks.

"Lita." The girl answers.

"Well Lita, welcome to Autobot City.

Inside one of the massive storage areas, the Constructicons put the finishing touches on the containment tank. It holds all the liquid that was raided from the Pool Of Transformation on Traal. Mixmaster puts the scanner in the water, and all the readings confirm its purity. He shows the scanners results to Megatron who is standing nearby waiting for the tank to be finished. He nods in approval, another Constructicon, Scrapper, approaches the Decepticon leader and tells him the assembling proccess is complete. With a smirk, the Decepticon commander can now begin the next phase of the new strategy.

Walking out from one of the wash bays, Strascream feels much better, now that the colour scheme of the Saudi plane is washed off. The water drips from his body and the Seeker shakes his wings to get the water off of them. He walks into another room, where the fans and blowers dry him off.

A while later he meets up with his brothers who just step out of the infirmary after being repaired. The three decide to go to the mess hall and have some energon before they retreat tho their quarters for a long deserved recharge. Once at the mess hall they each grab an energon cube and sit at a near by table.

"Hey Starscream". TC says. "What ever happened to that armada of U.S. Air Force planes we scanned yesterday?"

"Their destination was a an airbase in the nation state of Saudi Arabia. Obviously, because of the heightened tensions in the region. I just came from there a few hours ago." The red Seeker answers.

"So we heard." Skywarp says. "We had our own scuffle with a couple of Autobots on our mission too Traal."

Stascream finishes his energon cube and leaves the mess hall. A minute later he is stopped by his brother Thundercracker.

"How long are you gonna keep doing this?" The blue Seeker queries.

"Do what?" The red jet retorts.

"Keep taking the abuse. With every hit, shot, and beating HE gives you, a part of you seems to...well...die. You're getting closer to the brink of insanity.." TC whispers but is cut off.

"What do you know of me!? You and Skywarp barely even speak to me anymore! My dealings with HIM are none of your concern!" The red jet snaps back.

"Of course Skywarp and I barely speak to you anymore, you threatned both of us. Me that time in Peru, you put the blame of the secret weapon's failure on me, and guess who Megatron took it out on...ME! Then you threatned to tell Megatron about me letting the Autobot jet destroy the weapon. Then you tried to use the space brige to get to Cybertron when you were exiled to a deserted island, Skywarp stopped you and you put your laser cannons to his face and threatned to shot him if we didn't let you go! What makes you think we can trust you!?" TC rebuttals.

"Everytime I was trying to bring down Megatron you and Skywarp never ONCE supported me! How do you think I felt!? My own brothers don't even stand with me whe I need them! What makes you think I can trust you two!?" Starscream throws back at TC.

"Leave me alone!" The red Seeker shouts, and continues on his way to his quarters.

Thundercracker slams his fist on the wall and walks to his own quarters.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any copyrighted material in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Flying at high altitude above the Persian Gulf, an Iranian air force MIG-25 Foxbat soars on an intercept course. Its target, a Saudi Arabian air force E-3 Sentry aircraft. The aircraft monitors, and directs Saudi planes to various locations, it also tracks any flying aircraft with in the range of its huge rotating radar dome. One of the radar controlers monitors an aircraft approaching the E-3 at a high velocity. He calls up a pair of Saudi fighters that are closest to the target aircraft.

Two Panavia Tornado ADV fighters acknowledge the E-3s order and change direction to intercept the incoming plane. The MIG-25 spots the pair moving to intercept, and stays on its original course. The lead plane's pilot radios the incoming jet, but receives no answer. He radios the MIG a couple of more times, and repeats his original order to turn back, despite that the MIG and the Saudi pair are in international airspace. The gap between the Iranian MIG and the Saudi interceptors closes ever faster.

The range gap is soon closed and the Iranian and Saudi jets pass eachother. The Tornados turn hard and get behind the MIG. The anexiety of the Tornado pilots rises dramatically as their target continues on its original coruse toward the Sentry aircraft. The lead pilot radios the E-3 and tells the aircraft commander that the MIG has ignored all warnings, and requests instructions. The mood on the E-3 Sentry aircraft is getting nervous at the current dilema, the commander gives the order for the pair to shoot down the MIG.

Both Saudi pilots line up their Tornado jets behind the MIG-25, establish missile lock and fire a missile each. The missiles fly straight to their target, and at the last moment the MIG suddenly pulls up and ignites its afterburners. The Foxbat's speed allowed it to outrun the pursuing missiles. The Iranian MIG loops over and dives onto the Saudi jets. It quickly establishes a lock on the Saudis and fires a pair of missiles. The Tornados turn hard, but the limited air mobility of the Panavia Tornados just isn't enough to evade. The missiles impact and both Saudi Tornado jets explode violently.

The air controllers aboard the E-3 stare in shock at their monitors. They can't beleive that the pair of jets they sent are no longer aloft, but plummeting in fiery peices. The MIG-25 continues on its course toward the Sentry aircraft, the monitors try and call up more of their aircraft to stop the Iranian. Various fighters change course to intercept, but the speed of the MIG is too great. It closes to weapons range, locks onto the Saudi E-3 Sentry and a pair of missiles launch from the wings. The Sentry pilot turns the massive aircraft as hard as he can. However the sheer bulk is of no match for the missiles, both impact the wings and explode. The force of the blasts rip off the wings of the plane. The body of the E-3 turns over and dives toward the mass body of water.

Sitting at a desk in her room, Lita types away on her laptop, replying to some emails from her friends. She takes a bite from an omlet and takes a sip from a cup of coffee. After finishing with her emails and eating her food, Lita gets dressed, fixes her hair, and carefully packs her backpack. She looks around to make sure she leaves the room clean and puts the dishes into the automoatic washer. She leaves her room and walks to a guard rail. She rests her arms on it and looks at the magnificent view, below her are massive pine trees and the river just beyond them. Looking to her right she sees the two bridges that lead to Autobot City, she can also hear the waterfalls nearby. For a couple of days she's been a staying as a guest in the Autobot's city, living in the so called "human sector" where humans have all the facilities they require to live. The "human sector" is located on the east side facing the river.

As Lita walks toward the general area of the "human sector", she plays with her green hair tie to make sure her hair isn't out of place, and then her rose shaped earings to assure that they're on tight. She reaches the destination and finds Elita One with a much taller and bigger companion.

"Hi Lita. You all ready to go?" The femme asks.

"Yeah, I made sure I didn't forget anything. I also cleaned the room and whatever else I used before I left." She confidently says.

"Oh you didn't have too. The rooms are self cleaning here." Elita smiley replies.

"It's just the way I am. " The tall girl retorts. "I wan to thank you for what you did for me, rescuing me from those drunks, twice, and bringing me here. I really apreciate it."

"You're welcome. We Autobots are here to help." The pink machine tells the human. "Before you go...I want to introduce you to someone close to me."

Elita directs her arm to her companion. The blue and red transformer slowly steps forward and kneels down facing the female.

"Hello Lita, my name is Optimus Prime. I'm glad I was able to see you before you left." The soft voice says.

Lita smiles. "Hi. I'm pleased to of met as well. I've seen you on TV and read about you in the newspapers alot. But...seeing you in person is something else."

"How was your stay with us?" He queries.

"You have a wonderful city here. I have a tech savy friend who would give anything to play with the computers you have. Thats if she can stop drooling over them first." She says. "I'm...not sure how else to describe it, just...wow."

Primes' expression indicates a smile. "Thank you. I'm glad your stay has been a pleasent one. Don't be shy to come back."

"Thanks for the offer. I'll keep that in mind." Lita happily replies. "OH, before I leave, may I get a picture of you and Elita?"

"Of course my dear." The femme agrees.

Both Autobots stand close, with Elita wraping an arm around her mate's arm and resting her head on it. Lita takes out her digital camera, lines it with the pair, and presses the button.

"Got it. Thank you". She says. "You want a copy?"

"Id love one." Elita replies.

Elita kneels down and gently puts the digital camera in her hand. A small cable comes out of her wrist and plugs in. In a moment, she unplugs the camera and gives it back to the girl.

"Ok, I'm ready." Lita says.

"Very well. I'll take you too Chattanooga. Is that alright with you?" Elita inquires.

"Thats fine." She graciously says.

Elita transforms into her vehicle mode. Lita puts her backpack onto the rear seat, and she sits in the front passenger seat. Saying her last goodbye to the Autobot leader, the Mercury Marauder drives off. Prime looks on and wonders what lies ahead for her. His thoughts are then concentrated to the events spiralling in the Persian Gulf region and to why the Decepticons probably stole some of the water from the Pool Of Transformation.

A group of Decepticons take over a geothermal power station in Iceland. With its remote location the Decepticons beleive that interference in their operation is low. The Icelanders don't have much of a military to speak of, and no transmissions from the plant can reach the outside world thanks to Soundwave jamming all frequencies, even the land lines have been cut. The plant's workers have been locked away in storage room to ensure that no sabotage can be carried out.

Pushing anti-grav lifts, Rumble and Frenzy load the energon cubes into Astrotrain. Starscream the mission commander supervises the operation, while Thundercracker and Skywarp keep watch for signs of attack. Ever since their heated argument, TC and Starscream have been keeping their distance from eachother. Some beleive that the "perfect trine" may be breaking.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker. Report." The Air Commander orders.

"Nothing on my scanners." Skywarp replies.

"I don't see anything either." TC reports.

Turning to the two cassettes. "Rumble, Frenzy, how longer until we are fully loaded?"

"Umm..." Rumble thinks. "...We're halfway there Starscream."

"Good. Soundwave, how is the jamming?" The red Seeler asks.

"Signal jamming: fully operational. Probability of signals breaking through: impossible." The monotone cassette player says.

Two explosions close to Astrotrain startles the entire group. The two cassettes dive for cover, Skywarp and Thundercracker crouch down and search the surroundings in more detail. Starscream looks at the sky for airborne hostiles.

"You two said nothing appeared on your scanners!" The sceechy voice shouts.

"Nothing did. We didn't see any intruders." The black jet replies.

"Then what the hell was that!?" The air commander demands. "You two, take to the air! I want answers!"

A laughter nearby catches his attention. He frantikly raises his cannons and looks around him. Soudnwave transforms into his robot form while his cassesttes pull out their blasters. The two airborne Seekers transform into their jet modes and circle the area, their sensors show no targets in the air.

"Starscream. The is nothing in the air. They must be on the ground." TC reports.

"Where on the ground? I don't see anything." The red jet rebuttals.

"Here I'll show you". An anonomous voice announces.

An impact to the back sends Starscream crashing face first into the ground. Soundwave and his cassettes take aim at the intruder, but it disappears before the three can fire. The air commander gets back up on his feet and angrily searches for a target, but finding nothing.

"Ok Deceptif-cks. You're all about to eat a big slag sandwich." An agressive toned voice shouts out.

A small hill nearby disappears and in its place three Autobots stand. Hound, Brawn, and Ironhide, with their weapons drawn they attack the confused Decepticons. Starscream takes aim but gets startled when a robot decloaks right in front of him. Mirage fires his blaster at point blank range which sends the red jet slamming onto his back. Soundwave fires at the three appraoching Autobots , then turns to his cassettes.

"Get the energon to Astrotrain. I will cover you." The cassette player says.

Both cassettes nod in agreement and hurridly push the anti-grav lifts to the space shuttle. Impacts from Soundwave's concussion blaster strikes the ground infront of the charging bots, sending dirt, grass and various shrubbery into the air. The Autobots cover their faces breifly from the explosions. Brawn takes aim at Soundwave and shoots him in the left knee. The Decepticon falls to the ground and gets pounched on by Ironhide.

The two cassettes quickly dump whatever energon they had, and board the space shuttle. Rumble feels a tight grip on his ankle and suddenly gets pulled out and slammed on the shuttle's side. Frenzy turns around just in time to see a hand grab his head and is also pulled out then slammed to the ground.

Soundwave looking at the scene of his cassettes being manhandled shoves the Autobot off of him. He limps to his unconcious bots and blasts the brute Brawn with his blaster. The Autobot Land Rover spirals and drops to the turf. He picks up his cassettes and put them in the shuttle. Turning around, Soundwave is slammed up against the shuttle by Ironhide who knees him in the chest.

Hound joins Mirage to deal with Starscream but scatter when they are strafed by the airborne Decepticon jets. Skywarp and Thundercracker pull up and turn to make another pass. This gives Starscream time to gather himself. He gets up and fires at the green Autobot. Hound dodges to the side but a couple of shots hit, sending Hound to the ground. Mirage lunges at the Decepticon and tackles the jet. Both struggle to gain the advantage over the other.

Soundwave puts his hands together and slams down on the red Autobot's back. Ironhide falls to his knees, then to the ground when the pair of hands slam down again. Soundwave runs to the mission commander, snatches the Autobot and throws him onto his companion Hound.

"Operational directive forbides combat. We must leave immediately." The cassette player suggests.

"I will NOT run in the face of our enemy!" The commander replies.

"We must. New marching orders dictate that. Punishment for disobeying: severe." Soundwave explains.

"Then YOU go! I will stay!" The red jet says annoyed.

The Autobots Hound and Mirage regain their composure, but soon dive for cover as the blue and black Seekers make another strafing pass. Their rounds peepering the ground, sending debris everywhere. Hound egts up and fires off his missile, tracking the blue jet. Thundercracker senses the aproaching projectile, transforms into robot mode and fires his cannons. Destroying the missile he transforms back into his F-15 mode and rejoins Skywarp.

Ironhide and Brawn stand back up charge Soundwave and Starscream. Picking up the cassette player, Brawn slams him against the side of the Decepticon shuttle as he did with the cassettes. Starscream leaps into the air and fires his nullray cannon at the red Autobot. Ironhide's circuitry shorts, and he collapses to the ground. Soundwave quickly recoups,jumps into the shuttle and closes the door. Astrotrain ignites his engines and takes off while firing his own lasers to keep the Autobots at bay.

The space shuttle roars into the sky escorted by the trio of F-15s. The grounded Autobots, fire into the sky trying to hit the flying objects. Mirage raises his rifle, takes aim and fires three shots. All three hit one of Astrotrain's engines and it ignites.

"I can't make it to orbit with my blown out engine. I gotta fly the long way." The distressed shuttle cries out.

"What! It'll take us almost ten earth hours until we reach base." The black jet remarks.

"Wouldn't of happened if we just left like we are ordered too." The blue jet comments.

"Don't you pin this on me! If you would've done your job we wouldn't be in this situation!" The Air commander snaps back.

"One was cloaked and the other three were imersed in a hologram! None of us could've seen them!" TC angrily responds.

Sitting on a chair in a office like room, a man in his late thirties patiently waits. He looks into his breifcase and looks over his notes and his prepared presentation. Across from him, sitting at a desk, a young woman answers her phone. She hangs up after a few seconds and looks at the waiting man.

"Secretary Valchenko will see you now Mr. Simmons." She says with her russian accent.

"Thank you." Simmons says with a smile.

The door to the nearby office opens and he enters. Looking around he can see it is a very well plush office, must be from the many perks found with a man of Valchenko's position. Valchenko, a middle aged male, somewhat overweight, with thinning grey hair greets Simmons.

"Greetings Mr. Simmons. Welcome to Mother Russia." The aged man greets.

"Thank you mr. Secretary." Simmons replies with a handshake.

Both sit down and sit down. Valchenko looks at the man before him.

"Your company's methods of vastly improving effeciency has caught the interest of my compatriots. I would like to hear more." The bureaucrat says.

"Well Secretary Valchenko. My company can take your outdated industrial facilities, and vastly improve their effeciency without the massive expense of tearing down the facilities and building new ones. Our improvement technology can also be used for exploring and exploiting resources. Your territory of Siberia holds vast deposits of oil and natural gas, but the extreme climate and environment makes it extremely difficult to do." Mr. Simmons replies.

"Very true. How would you extract these resources in such a harsh climate?" The secretary inquires.

"My company posseses very advanced technology when it comes to the industrial sector. With the high energy demand of the world, we have concentrated our efforts into the energy field. We have the equipment that other drilling and exploiting companies would fight tooth and nail for. But, inorder to protect our business stance, we keep our technology a very tight secret." Simmons explains more.

He takes a drink of water and comntinues.

"Your country has a vast oil and natural gas sector, but it is very outdated and suffers much ineffeciency. But, with our improvements, your facilities will be fully modernized and be able to produce much more than they are now. With the current situation reaching a new sky high in the middle east, people will be looking for a more stable area to get their oil and gas from. Your country can be that stable supplier." He finishes.

"This is very interesting Mr. Simmons. Please continue." Valchenko implies.

"Thank you secretary. The details are all in my breifcase. All your questions can be answered with either myself or in my company's presentation.". The company man ends.

He passes the secretary the presentatin from his breifcase. Valchenko skims through it and picks up his phone. A minute later two people walk in and sit next to Mr. Simmons. All three Russians bombard Simmons with questions, and Simmons answers all of them with ease. Valchenko picks up his phone again and has a discussion on it for several minutes. He hagns up the phone and looks at Simmons.

"I just spoke with the President. I suggested that we accept your company's offer...and he agreed." The secretary stands up, grabs a bottle of Vodka with a few glasses, pouring a shot in each. All four men take a shot. Mr. Simmons' eyes opening wide for a moment.

"Ha ha. You're a good man Mr. Simmons. I see many good fortunes between your company and my country." The aged bureacrat joyfully says.

"Thank you Mr. Valchenko, and please...my friends call me Swindle."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Tranformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Somewhere in western Africa a breeze begins to cool the day's hot temperature. The tall grass waving and bending to the light wind's whim, the surface of the nearby river developing small wave tops, and the setting sun turning the colours of the surroundings to a mix of reds, oranges, and golds.

Close to the river, a metalic object of some sorts breaks up the natural formations of the foliage. Smoke emmiting from its rear rises to the sky, and a couple of small forms can be seen moving around it. The Decepticon raiding party landed at this place to try and repair some of the damage inflicted during their battle with the Autobots in Iceland. The two cassettes, Rumble, and Frenzy crawl all over the space shuttle's damaged engine. The nozzle has been blown off from the resulting explosion, and there is much internal damage, no chance of Astrotrain making orbit. The pain has been tremendous but the Decepticon shuttle knows that nothing can be done until they reach base, thus he bites his tongue and toughs out.

Rumble makes his diagnosis. "Man, Hook is gonna have a fit at this. Looks like the entire engine will have to be replaced. Not to mention the vertical stabalizer, it got alot of shrapnel and burn marks from the blast."

Frenzy adds. "The two other engine nozzles got shrapnel and burn damage aswell. Astrotrain, you're lucky your two other engines didn't get more damage."

"Yeah, right. The pain reminds me of my luck all the time. I just want to get back so I can get fixed and end the anguish." The shuttle answers with a hint of discomfort in his voice.

Next to the river, Thundercracker keeps watch incase the Autobots they fought before decided to follow them. However, his mind keeps wondering away from his duty. The previous dealings with his brother Starscream is deteriorating their relationship. He hears the approach of footsteps, but doesn't turn around.

"Hi bro." The familiar voice greets.

"Oh, hey Skywarp." The blue Seeker replies with a soft tone.

"How are you holding out?"

"I'm doing fine. Didn't receive any damage from the battle, so I'm in tip top shape."

The black/purple jet puts his hands on his hips. "That's not what I mean. I'm talking about you and 'screamer."

"We're fine. Nothing to it."

Skywarp smirks at the response. " I'm not that stupid, brother. I know this has been bothering you for a while. It's not 'Screamers fault, you know that."

TC has to admit though, Skywarp had a point.

"I know its not his fault, that's what makes it so hard. I try to talk to him about it and he pushes me and everyone else away. He makes me so pissed sometimes and I blame it on him, while I know he isn't the one to blame. Now...I don't know...I think we're coming to our wits end."

"You think a complete parting out between you two is coming?"

"...it looks like it might come to that."

In the distance standing next to the shuttle. Soundwave inspects Astrotrain's airframe to see of any other damage has gone unnoticed like fractures, cracks, and minut fluid lose. He does this all the while eavesdroping on the Seekers' private conversation. He stores what he recorded into his mass databanks, in a file for possible future use.

"All right. Lets get on our way back to base." The air commander orders.

Soundwave and his cassettes board the space shuttle, and the Seekers jump in the air and transform into their jet mode. Their flight path takes them through various African countries wich have little or no air defence radar systems. Hours later, they finally arrive at the base with the docking tower emerging to the ocean surface. One of the landing doors open and the raiding group land inside its water proof bay. Just as quickly it rose, the docking tower retracts back to below the surface. The twin doors open with the three Seekers walking out, followed by Astrotrain still in his space shuttle mode rolling on its wheels.

In the main hangar bay, Astrotrain stops, allowing Soundwave and his cassettes to jump out and begin to unload the energon onto awaiting anti-grav lifts. The Seekers stay silent and help with the unloading proccess. With that done, Astrotrain can finally transform into his robot mode, stretching his arms and legs.

"Give me your de-breif Starscream." A voice bellows.

Turning around the party see Megatron walking in their direction. He gazes onto the mission commander and then the others. Seeing many of them with varying degrees of damage and stains of mud and dirt, the Decepticon leader gets an annoyed look in his face.

"What happened Starscream?" He commands.

"Well Lord Megatron. We were gathering the energon from the Icelandic power station, then we were ambushed by an Autobot strike force. The ensuing battle caused various degrees of damage on us. We finally managed to escape with what energon we had, but Astrotrain had one of his engines blown out during our escape so we couldn't make orbit and had to fly here the long way." The mission commander reports.

"What battle!? Your marching orders are to flee just before battle erupts! This prevents the energon cubes from being destroyed from the fight." The leader exclaims.

"Yes, lord Megatron, I understand that..." the red jet pleads. "...we had no opportunity to flee as I mentioned, we were ambushed."

"How much energon did you manage to get?"

"Roughly half the load, maybe just under." Starsream ashamly says.

Megtron's eyes glow a bright red, and the facial expresion shows a growing rage building. "What! Thats all you got!? Dammit...you idiot, Starscream! You have failed again, what is it with YOU and FAILURE!?

The Seeker's expression shows a face full of fear and hunches his back a slightly. "It's not my fault Megatron...I swear it... I was just supervising the others..."he points to the blue jet. "...Thundercracker wasn't doing his job."

The blue Seeker's eyes widen to the point they might jump out. His jaw drops slightly and his stress begins to rise dramaticly. Megatron looks at him with a look that would frighten any other Decepticon.

Starscream continues." The Autobots ambushed us from Thundercracker's sector of responsibility. If he was doing his task properly we wouldn't of been ambushed and we would've fled as we are orderd. HE is the one who failed us in our mission lord Megatron.

"Is this true Thundercracker? Did the Autobots appear from your area?" The silver gun asks while slowly walking toward him.

Fear grips the blue Seeker, and he backs up a couple of steps. "Well...yes Megatron...the Autobots did attack us from... my area of responsibility, but you have to underst.."

The Decepticon leader grabs Thundercracker by the throat thus cutting short the explanation. He easily lifts the Seeker off the floor and grips the throat even harder. TC grabs Megatron's wrist, and tries to look at his master.

"...please...you mustcoughs under...standcoughs. Autobots...hidden beh..indcoughs..hologram... The othercoughs...was cloaked.coughs...None of...us...could've.coughs seen any of...them" The blue jet pleads with a choke filled explanation.

Megatron doesn't let go and brings Thundercracker's face closer to his. TC's systems begin to overload from the lack of fluids, nural circuits being crushed, and the stress rising.

"Please...I beg..youcoughs"

Megatron lets go and TC plummets to the floor. His coughing has a sign of pain in it, the rushing of fluids back to his head and the nural circuitry now free to transmit, overload the jet's proccessors. The disorientation makes it too difficult to stand up. Megatron sits him up against a container. Thundercracker tries to refocus his optics and can barrely make out a black object, that seems to be pointing at him. He closes his optics as another coughing spell comes.

"DO NOT...ever fail like this again!" The silve mech barks out.

"...yes...I promise."

A sharp pain impacts Thundercracker's chest. The burning sensation is so painfull that TC's system's shut down before they get overloaded and permanent damage is done.

Turning around to face the rest of the raiding team, smoke expels from his fusion cannon, Megatron stairs down them all.

"Get to the medical bay and fix yourselves up." He orders.

Skywarp picks up his downed brother and carries him over his shoulder. At the corner of his optics he can see a slight smirk on Stascream's face. The black jet ignores it and continues to the medical bay with the rest of them.

Slowly, a very foggy and distorted image comes into view. Refocusing, the images get clearer, a figure of some sort seems to be sitting next to him, looking down at him it appears. One by one his systems come back online slowly as not to overload the body. Focusing more, the figure's colours begin to emerge, red, little black, with what looks like white panels behind the figure, probably wings.

"Hello dear brother." The heavily muffled voice.

Thundercracker, makes a diagnosis on his audio receptors, and adjusts the settings.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." The now familiar sound says.

TC makes finaly adjustments on his optics. The image comes in clearly and the figure instantly recognized.

"Starscream". Thundercracker calmly says.

"How are you? You took quite the attention from megatron." The red jet asks.

"Still disoriented." TC weakly replies.

"That will pass. I've been there myself many times, so I know what to expect. You on the other hand, this is your first."

"What do you want?"

"Ohh..just to chat. We have barely done that in a while. Well...except our last conversation."

"If...you came to gloat, save your breath."

"Not to gloat, dear brother. As you know, our current relationship is sour at best. We have almost nothing in common anymore, save for us being Decepticons, and being Seekers. We used to be close, the three of us, you, Skywarp and I. But, whenever I needed you and Skywarp the most, you two were never around. Leaving me to the mercy of others. That is whatever mercy they saw fit."

"You left your life of science, because being a soldier is..alot more fun as you put it once. You should've stayed with your beakers and test tubes. You were better at it." The blue Seeker replies with a weaken tone.

"Hmph. No glory or fun in that. Being part of something greater like our conflict with the Autobots serves me better. I am in a position of power and influence, AND second in command of the entire Decepticon armed forces. It is something the world of science can't offer."

TC still laying on the medical bay's recharge bed, still weak from the repairs, looks into the eyes of his brother, raises his hand. The red Seeker takes it and squeezes a little, knowing it might be the last time.

"Starscream. If you are in such a great position, then why does Megatron treat you like this? Why do you tolerate his abuse and take the blame for everything?" TC weakly asks.

"The more he strikes and insults and demeans me. The stronger my resolve gets, and the more determined I am to throw him from power. Once that happens, things will change for the better."

"Over throw him? You tried many times, and every time you FAILED. It didn't matter if you did it on your own or with a cartel, the end was always the same. You can't and will never overthrow Megatron. You are in a continous loop of failure. How many do you think will follow you Starscream? No one will, you'll be just a dictator replacing another. None of the Decepticons will ever follow you as leader, because none respect you, and many see you as the army's fool, always trying to stage a coup, and always backstabbing everyone you meet, and always failing. You're just a joke to them." TC admits.

"I won't be such a joke once I become leader. Things will change for the better, just you see."

"Just I see huh? For every injustice Megatron has visited upon you, I see a small part of my brother die. I fear once the last shred of your being is gone, all that there will be left is a monster. The only thing left of you will just be your name."

"So, I'm a sadistic monster to you then? I have to admit, I didn't expect that from you."

"I fear that's all that there will be if you keep going this way. It's not your fault. Megatron is too blame, it's him thats making you like this."

"I...will handle Megatron when the time comes. He is the monster, not I."

"I want to beleive that. But, Megatron is far too powerful for you. You can't beat him."

"I would if you and Skywarp would be there for me. Be there when I need you two the most, but you're not...you never were." He squeezes TC's hand a little more. "Will you two be with me, stand with me, when the time comes?"

Thundercracker, closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry...I can't."

Starscream lossens his grip. His head tilts down a little. He had a good idea what his brother's answer would be, but a part of him was hoping otherwise. He bends down and touches TC's forehead with his own. Gently putting his brother's hand down, Starscream slides off the recharge bed and stands up. The red jet turns around and walks toward the med facility's door.

"Now I know where you finally stand. We have no reason to continue on. Goodbye...Thundercracker."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Walking to the mess hall comes one of the Decepticons' triplechangers. One that can turn into three seperate forms, two vehicle and its robot form. This one has been hanging around the Decepticon undersea base for a few days now, still waiting for another mission in Megatron's new plan. The mess hall door opens automatically and the mech stroles in. Looking around he doesn't see alot of his fellow Decepticons.

Megatron and Shockwave have stepped up phase two of this new strategy, phase one being the theft on Traal. This second phase involves the infiltration of the human societies, such as the militaries, commercial/industrial sectors, and igniting long standing transnational disputes. Every successful operation in the current stage, brings Megatron closer to realising phase three: The humans go to war with eachother.

The triplechanger sees a group of Seekers sitting at a table, one waves for him to join them.

"Hey Blitzwing, please join us." The white/black jet greets.

"Thanks Ramjet. Don't mind if I do." The triple replies.

Blitzwing grabs a chair and sits with this group of Seekers. They aren't the same type as Starscream, Thundercracker, or Skywarp, no these ones have the colourful name of Coneheads. It is unknown how these guys got such an odd nickname, but since their heads are imbedded into their nose cones, the name stuck.

"So how's it going? When is Megs gonna send you out again?" Ramjet asks.

"Oh its going OK I guess. Been kinda bored though lately. I haven't been out since I shotdown that Saudi E-3 Sentry aircraft and its fighter escort." The mech answers.

"We saw the footage of that after your de-breif. Pretty sweet work." The black/white jet says with delight.

"Hey thanks. That'll add fuel to the fire." Blitz says.

"You guys here about what happened to 'screamer, TC and 'warp?" Bltizwing whispers.

The Coneheads get a look of confusion and intrigue in their faces.

"No. Why, what happened?" Ramjet asks.

"It looks like they had a parting out. TC and 'Screamer anyway. Skywarp doesn't know what to think of it, and both Thundercracker and Strascream want seperate assignments now. It seems that the perfect trine is coming to an end." The triplechanger explains.

An expression of surprise hits the Coneheads. They look at each other not knowing what to say at this news. Thrust suddenly gets a smirk and realises, that this could be the opportunity they have been long waiting for. For the longest time, the Coneheads have played second fiddle to the triplets. They yearned to be the best Seeker unit, and now it looks like their wish will come true.

"Maybe now Megatron will give us the premier assignments and the brothers the secondary ones." Thrust says with a smile.

"Yeah, I'm sick and tired of being underneath their shadow. Now, it is THEY who will be in ours." Ramjet exclaims.

"I just fear that we might be bitting off more than we can chew." Dirge claims.

Ramjet exhales in disapointment. "Why would you be afraid if this? Its the news we've been waiting for."

They look over at the other side of the mess hall, seeing Skywarp walking by. Probably scheming up some sort of prank on someone. The Coneheads and the triplechanger look at him walk by, with the black/purple jet turning his head to their direction. The Coneheads simply smile and wave, with Skywarp getting a slight look of confusion, but slowly waves back.

"Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, report to the breifing room." A voice over the intercom orders.

Ramjet gulps the rest of his energon cube. "Show time."

In the huge space that is the communications room, Optimus Prime stares at the many holographic screens before him. The ever incoming reports, vids, and images from the front lines on Cybertron and elsewhere in space. The ones from earth are being handled by his communications master, Blaster, with help from his cassettes.

A report from fleet tacticans Seaspray and Broadside suggest that the diminishing Decepticon fleet movements might be the result of a shortage of energon. As he reads their reports further, the Decepticon battle fleets aren't venturing out of port much, unless ships are re-assigned to other fleets for whatever reason. The only segment of the Decepticon fleet still fully active are the convoy ships which carry the materials and energon needed for the war effort. Optimus leans back in his chair, crosses his arms and thinks about this report.

_A shortage of energon and the entire Decepticon fleet changes tactics. Maybe Seapsray and Broadside have shifted tactics more toward convoy raiding? _The red truck thinks to himself. His thoughts are interrupted by the sudden movements of his communications officer Blaster. The cassette player touches certain screens and calls Prime's attention.

"Hey Prime. You should look at this." The Autobot suggests.

"Alright Blaster. What do you have?" Prime replies.

One of the screens expands and the Autobot leader gives his full attention to it. The holographic screen shows footage of a live news conference, with a man sitting at a table flanked by others and all are dressed alike. One of the men, an Amercian by the sound of his voice announces that the U.S. and its NATO allies have agreed to finally authorize a ballistic missile defense system. This decision has been in debate for almost a decade, and with Iran's recent missile tests, all participants saw fit to OK this new system. The Americans have been developing a missile defense shield for as long as the debate has been going, which has caused alot of strife between it and other nations, especialy from Russia and China. Now with her NATO allies on board, America's missile shield dream can be a reality much quicker.

Blaster closes that screeen and expands another for his leader to see. This one concentrates on an event closer to home. Footage and reports of gunfights between Mexican drug cartels and Mexican police in the northen parts of Mexico. The heavy handed tactics of President Calderon have pushed the cartels to their limit. The violence has worsen to the point that police officers are beginning to quit their posts outright. Footage then shows Mexican Federal Police arresting many local police officers who have ties to the cartels, several of these corrupted police have resisted arrest and fought runnig gun battles with the Federal Police. This violence has not been strictly concentrated to Mexico, as drug runners are being escorted more and more by cartel troops who want to make sure their illicit products reach the American market, which has resulted in the deaths of a dozen American border patrol agents.

_They're destined to destroy themselves, it seems. _Prime's inner thoughts say. He slowly exhales and stands up. He waves to Blaster that he doesn't want to see these depressing reports of the humans. The red truck walks to the door but stops as something on one of the screens catches his attention. He clicks on it and watches the familiar face.

A young girl, tall for a human femme, ponytailed, green hair tie, and green eyes is being interviewed by a local news agancy.

"It pisses me off that people give the Autobots such a hard time. What harm have they done us? One of them, just some days ago saved me, twice, from a bunch of drunken men. That Autobot put herself in harm's way to help me."

"Was that the same one that fired on the alleged men you claimed were drunk?" The reporter asks.

"Yes. She fired at them because they drew their guns and were very hostile toward me." The girl responds.

"The men had guns and were hostile? Can you elaborate?" The reporter asks another question.

"They were hostile because they were drunk and wanted to have their way with me. I tried to struggle but they overpowered me. Then the autobot female came by, transformed and that scared them away. The second time the men brought along some friends and found me at a motel. They chased me on foot for a while then, the female Autobot drove by and I sat inside. We were chased to a dead end, and the men cornered us. Thats when they drew their guns, so the Autobot fired a few shots at their feet, and the gang of scumbags ran off."

"What happened to you after?"

"The Autobot offered me a ride to somewhere safe. She took me to their city where I was welcomed by the rest of her kind. The Autobots have done alot for humanity, we should be more grateful."

"Indeed. Thank you for your time." The reporter then looks at the camera. "There you have it, now back to our studio."

The Autobot leader gives a small smirk under his faceplate. After much bad press of his kind, this small, grateful gester is a welcome change. _You're welcome Lita._ He thinks to himself.

Prime exits the communications room and walks to the elevator. Once at ground level, the semi truck exits the tower and walks to the bridge that spans over the water falls. Optimus Prime stops and takes in the relaxing sound of the falls. He tilts his head to the clear night sky, and just stares into space. _What are the Decepticons up too? _His mind comtemplates.

Flying over central Texas, a C-17 Globemaster III of the United States Air Force continues on its course east. The huge aircraft, practically the largest one in the USAF inventory, carries the first components of America's new dream. Inside the massive cargo hold, capable of carrying even the massive Abrams tanks, the cargo is wraped and securely fastened to its skids which sit on rollers to facilitate the load and unload proccess. Surrounding the precious cargo are armed USAF security troops. These are the Air Force's only ground defence. The men try to keep alert, however the boredom on some of them start to surface. Their commander, a Master Sergeant makes his rounds.

Looking at one rubbing his eyes, the Msgt. nudges the trooper, startling him.

"You awake Waters? He asks.

"Geez!" The started trooper grabs his chest. "I am now sir."

"I don't get to nod off, neither do you." The commander says.

"No sir." The tired eyed tropper replies.

"Get yourself some coffee, you can use the caffeine...Hell, me too for that matter." The Sergeant orders and rubs his own eyes.

"Thanks sir." The trooper says as he walks to the front of the aircraft.

Inside the massive aircraft's flight deck, the two pilots keep an eye on their instruments. Their aircraft has just undergone a thourough maintenance procedure just the other day, and with a plane this size one can never be too careful. The co-pilot looks out the windows at the darkened horizon, a few drops spatter on the outside of the reinforced glass.

"Look like we're heading into rainfall. Probably the hurricane thats heading up the Gulf of Mexico." He says.

The pilot looks at the instruments and sees that a cross wind is getting stronger. Gazing out the windows he notices a flash of light off in the distance.

"Lightning in the distance, and the cross wind is getting stronger. I'm guessing the hurricane picked up speed and is heading up the coast." The pilot says.

"If the weather gets too severe, we are too land at an airfield outside Laurel, Mississippi and wait it out. The top brass doesn't want any chances taken with what we're carrying." The co-pilot explains.

"Thats fine with me. I sure as hell don't want to fly through that." The pilot replies.

A few hours pass and the weather outside the bulking C-17 gets worse and worse. The rain and wind has dramaticcally risen. The turbulence tries to jumble the massive plane and the pilots try to keep it steady on course. The fly-by-wire system helps this greatly, but physical strengh is still needed. In the cargo hold, the security troops have secured any loose peice of kit that may tumble and damage something or someone. After, they fasten themselves to their seats and try to ride out the turbulence, hoping the pilots can keep the Globemaster III upright. The pilot clicks on the intercom.

"The wind and the rain is just kicking the hell out of us. The co-pilot and I have decided that we land at our emergency airfield. We will wait out the hurricane there and continue once it has passed." The pilot announces.

In the cargo hold, the troops are getting disoriented from the jumbling and tossing. This announcement is happily welcomed.

Nearing the airfield just outside Laurel, Mississippi, the C-17 Globmaster III lowers its massive landing gears, and cuts power to its engines. The low flying transport aircraft touches down on the water logged runway, the water spary from the massive tires make an impressive rooster tail effect. The mamouth aircraft slows, turns off the runway, and slowly parks close to the airfield's terminal, which is just a small building. Looking out the windows of the cockpit, the pilots make out a vehicle coming their way. The top brass has mentioned that USAF support staff will be occupying the airfield for the duration of the airlift mission.

The Hummer stops next to the huge rear door, where it slowly opens. A couple of people in raincoats get out of their Hummer and meet the Master Sergeant. The two follow him into the cargo bay and the newcomers take a look around at the cargo and troopers.

"Welcome to Laurel. The sunniest place in Mississippi." The one jokes.

The other trooper in the raincoat chuckles slightly. "Hello gentlemen. If any of you need to use the freshers, or want hot food and drinks, we got it all set up at the terminal. Just help yourselves."

The troopers make signs and sounds of approval at this nice announcement. The two pilots exit the cockpit and greet the two raincoat soldiers. Half of the security personnel and the two pilots follow the couple to the terminal building. The aircraft's crew take in the warmth and enjoy the well laid out buffet of soups, sandwiches, and hot beverages. One of the pilots notices a couple of air force personnel dressed in flight suits looking out the window, both stare at the C-17. He approaches and one turns around.

The first looks like he's in his mid thirties, somewhat short brown hair with a touch of grey and bright blue eyes. Both exchange formalities.

"Whats up guys. I wasn't informed that the brass had other pilots at this airfield." The C-17 pilot says.

"I just got sent here along with my co-pilot. I guess the top brass sent spare pilots just incase." He replies. "Love your ride out there."

"Spares huh. I guess they're not taking any chances with what we have." The USAF pilot responses. "You ever been in a C-17?"

"No, never. Been in the Extender, Galaxy, Hercules, and Stratolifter though. I'm just itching to be in the Globemaster." The spare pilot replies.

"You wanna look at her?" He asks.

"Please." The other happily replies.

The blue eyed pilot nudges his partner, a man in his mid twenties, short light brown hair and dark brown eyes. He looks on at his older partner and the pilot run to the transport plane until he feels a tap on his shoulder which causes him to turn around.

"Excuse me sir. Where can I find the freshers?" The young trooper asks.

"Its this way. Come on, I'll show you." The young pilot says.

The terminal is a buzz with the countless chatter of Air Force personnel. The mood among them is quite relaxed despite the violent weather just outside. Inside the terminal, the young pilot brings the trooper to the bathroom and opens the door for him. After finishing his business, the young security trooper leaves the fresher and tries to find his way back. Walking slowly down a corridor, he notices a door slightly open. He puts a hand on it and pushes, but the door doesn't close, maybe an obstruction is the culpit. Behind him another door silently and slowly opens. The trooper opens the door and notices something that looks like the tip of a boot, maybe thats it. He runs his hand along the doorway feeling for a light switch, finding it the lights come on.

The young man's eyes open widely and his jaw drops almost to the ground at the scene before him. Almost a dozen people, all wearing USAF uniforms, dead and stuffed into this small room. Turning around he suddenly faces a silenced pistol just an inch from his forehead. He drops limp to the floor as the gun fired. He too is then stuffed into the room like the others. The killer, the same young pilot who brought the trooper to the bathroom, closes the door and makes sure it shuts properly this time. Walking back to the terminal he nods at one of the airfield's security personnel, that one nods to another, and another, and so on until all know. The plane's crew just sit, chatter and mellow out. The Master Sergeant looks at his watch noticing its time for the others in the plane to relax. He stands up, then suddenly drops to the floor as a silenced pistol puts two shots to the back of his head. The rest of the airfield security pull out their silenced pistols take out the aircrew in just a few seconds.

"How many others on the plane?" The one who killed the sergeant asks.

"Six more security troops and one pilot." The young uniformed pilot replies.

"Ok. Get your raincoats on, and keep your guns underneath. We go now." The apparent leader orders.

Inside the cockpit, the C-17 pilot shows the other the aircraft's controls and other features. The blue eyed pilot sits in the pilot's seat still in awe. Outside the plane, the seven men reach the plane and knock on the rear door. It lowers to the ground and the gunmen walk aboard, the security crew looking on tired and hungry for their turn in the terminal. The killers pull their pistols from underneath their raincoats and begin to fire. One by one the troopers are cut down by the silenced gunfire. One of the security soldiers grabs one of the gunmen and a struggle ensues. The killer slams him up against the bay's wall pinning him, one of his co-conspirators runs to his aid and puts a couple of rounds into the soldier's face. Inside the cockpit, the pilot hears a series of muffled sounds coming from the cargo bay.

"The hell was that?" He says getting up and turns around to the cockpit door.

"Probably just the wind sending branches slamming ginto the hull?" The blue eyed man suggests while pulling out a silenced pistol of his own and shooting the pilot in the back.

The door to the cockpit opens and the young, dark brown eyed man pops his head in and looks at his partnet in crime.

"Hey Thundercracker. You OK?" He asks.

"I'm fine. How 'bout you Skywarp?" He replies climbing out of his seat.

"I'm doing good. Lets go to the cargo hold." Skywarp replies.

Climbing down the flightdeck, Thundercracker and Skywarp holster their guns and meet with their fellow co-conspirators in the plane's cargo hold. They see the bodies of the plane's former crew and then look at the six men of varying height and age. One of the six looks at the two pilot uniformed men.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker. You two take care and dispose of the bodies. Take them to the terminal's basement and pour this on them." He tosses a bottle of green liquid and is caught by TC. "Its a form of acid, it'll melt the humans down with no smell and little smoke. Even the DNA is vaporized."

He then looks at his fellow security uniformed people. "Constructicons. Bring the van over and then we can start to upgrade these satellites. According to Shockwave's analysis, this hurricane will last only a couple of hours here before it dies down enough for us to lift off. Alright Decepticons, let's get to work."

Everbody nods and goes about their assigned tasks. The leader of the team reaches into his satchel bag and pulls out a blue box like object. He places it on one of the seats.

"Soundwave. Inform Megatron and Shockwave that we have taken control of the plane and have left no witnesses. We have also begun retrofitting the American satellites with our devices. Estimated time, a couple of hours until the retrofit is complete. Tell Onslaught and his Combaticons they are clear to begin their operation." The gang leader reports.

"Report encripted. Sending to satellite communication systems around earth orbit...Report sent: succcessful. Good work Scrapper." The blue recorder box replies.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They are the property of Hasbro. Any copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading**

The city of Monterrey is in full swing to prepare for the arrival two high ranking American officials, Keith Alexander, head of the NSA and Ken Wainstein, director of Homeland Security. With the massive surge of violence between the drug cartels and police in the northern states of Mexico, the Americans have been very annxious about border security. The violence has even spilled into American territory on several occasions resulting in the deaths of a dozen American border patrol agents.

The U.S. Administration has recently decided to implement a new cooperation initiative between the U.S. and Mexico to help stem the violence.

At the luxury hotel the motorcade prepares to leave. Security has been tightened ever more because of a running gun battle between drug cartels and police just the night before. The pair of high ranking U.S. officials board their respective limos and the motorcade gets underway. The early morning sun beams down on the shinny black vehicles rumbling down the local highway. Just ten miles until they reach the city's assembly building.

Helicopters, both military and police follow, and keep a bird's eye view. Crossing over a long spanding bridge, the motorcade reaches the business part of the city, densly packed with its tall buildings. Just five miles left.

Entering the packed business sector, all but one of the helicopters stop following the American convoy. The sole police helicopter is small enough to follow within the city streets. The convoy of five vehicles, two SUVs leading and one taking the rear, with both limos in between, turn a corner, the sidewalks of the streets get more packed with the city's curious onlookers. Just four miles left, and the motorcade goes no further.

The leading SUVs brake hard as the police helicopter overhead crashes in flames. The rear escorting SUV explodes and jumps a few meters in the air and lands on its side. The leading SUVs try to pull to the sidewalk but fail to go anywhere as both drivers are decapitaed by shots from a high powered rifle.

A rocket leaps from one of the surrounding buildings' windows and slams into one of the SUVs, and shattering it into fiery chunks. The two limos peel away down an alley being chased by a pair of city police cruisers. The lone surviving SUV's passengers disembark from their disabled vehicle and try to find cover. Two are immediately cut down by sub-machine gun fire from a group of charging men wearing body armour and balaclavas. The others take cover behind the black SUV, but proves to be futile as one of the masked men fires underneath the vehicle and strikes their ankles and feet. Both secret service personnel drop in pain, their screams quickly silenced by the other men now turning the corner of the vehicle and popping a burst into their heads. One opens the SUV's door and removes the headless driver, the sniper slides down a rope to the street and jumps into the SUV with the others, the vehicles drives off in pursuit.

The two limos with the police cruisers make a run for it but are quickly cut short as the cruisers slam into the sides of the limos. The limos lose control with one flipping over and the other spinning to a stop. Five masked men with the same body armour exit the police cars, one carrying a Barret .50 calibre sniper rifle. Two shots into the spun limo's windshield kills the driver and his passenger. Three others run up to it and spray sub-machine gun fire into the car. It's passenger door opens and out limps the NSA director, he is shot in the head from a man standing right infront of him. Looking in, the men see no one else survived. They run to the flipped over limo and put rounds into the driver and his passenger, killing them. One of the doors is slightly open, its locking mechanism probably broken from the accident. It is pried open and its high ranking passenger, the Homeland Security Director, is pulled out disoriented. His compatriots are gunned inside the car without mercy.

The black SUV pulls up next to the men standing next to the flipped limo. They disembark and a very large man walks camly to the director, propping him up against the car.

"You'll...never get...away with this." He painfully says with some blood dripping from his mouth. "You're...gonnacoughs incure the...wrathcoughs...of my country."

The huge man, leans close to the director's face, looks squarely into his eyes, and with a soft voice. "That's the idea."

He puts a large revolver to the director's head and pulls the trigger. He looks around at his fellow conspirators.

Looking at the group he was with in the captured SUV. "Good work Combaticons."

He then looks at the group driving the police cars. "Nicely done Stunticons."

In the cargo bay of the C-17 Globemaster III, the usurpers put the final touches on their satellite upgrades. Scrapper, uses his diagnostic device to each of the satellites to ensure they have been installed properly. Satisfied with the scans, the human formed Constructicons re-wrap the cargo and strap them down to their respective skids. It has taken just over two hours to do the work, enough time for the hurricane to pass and for the Seeker brothers to get rid of the bodies.

Thundercracker and Skywarp slowly walk about the terminal, and clean up whatever traces of their presence. Scrapper enters the terminal building and greets the two brothers.

"Did you get rid of the bodies?" He asks.

"Yeah. We're just looking around the whole place now, getting rid of whatever evidence we find." TC responds.

"Good work. You two to go the aircraft and make your pre-flight checks." Scrapper orders.

Both nod and make their way outside. Scrapper takes one last look at the place and leaves. He enters the cargo bay, and informs his fellow Contrsucticons of the impending flight. Taking off their raincoats, Thundercracker sits in the pilot seat and Skywarp in the co-pilot. With the checks over, they click a few switches, and the huge Pratt&Whitney engines roar to life. The transport aircraft taxis to the runway, and increases its speed. The men in the cargo bay sit on the wall mounted seats and brace for takeoff.

The pilots each put a hand on the massive throttle and slowly push it. Running down the still water logged runway, the landing gears' tires sending the water high in the air, the transport plane lifts off the ground. Pulling back on his flight wheel, TC steadily increases the altitude to thirty thousand feet and levels off. He moves the aircraft's direction to an eastern heading and back onto its original flightpath. Skywarp, looking over a clipboard, inputs coordinates into the plane's autopilot.

After many passing hours, the Decepticons reach the vacinity of MacDill AFB in Florida, the plane's original destination. Both pilots lower altitude and slow the plane's speed. The hurricane has passed through hours ago and just a simple rainfall remains. The massive transport aircraft lowers the mamouth landing gears and softly touches down.

Once safely stopped at the area they were guided too, the massive rear door opens and military flatbed trucks begin to line up so the unloading proccess can begin. One by one the satellites are loaded onto the awaiting flatbeds, and soon drive off with their escort of state police and military personnel to their final destination, Cape Canaveral. Completely unaware of the upgrades made to them.

The refueling trucks disconnect their hoses and leave the area, while infront, a signalman waves his bright batons to signal engine start. The Pratt&Whitney engines roar to life and the Globemaster III taxis to the its starting point. TC and Skywarp both throttle up, the transport aircraft increases speed and takes off soon after. Reaching the desired altitude the aircraft levels off and heads back westward.

The midday sun brightly shines in the clear blue sky. The wind blows across the exposed hangar bay as one of the shuttles is being loaded with its much needed kit. Looking on, Optimus Prime sees his team forming up before him and focuses his attention to them. Brawn, Ratchet, Hound, and Jazz standing at attention await for their leader's mission brefing.

"Autobots, at the request of the United Nations, and the World Food Organisation, we will be ferrying food and water supplies to the Darfur refugee camp in Sudan. This...ever ongoing crisis has reached a new high when just a few days ago rebel and goverment forces have cut off all roads going to the Darfur camp. The rebels accuse the Sudanese of using the Darfur camp to ferry troops and weapons in disguise, and the Sudanese accuse the rebels of using the camp as a staging point for future attacks." Prime explains.

"Why can't the UN troops there deliver these supplies? Don't they have their own supply system there?" Brawn asks.

"Their convoys are in constant danger of being attacked, and the Peacekeeing force there is too small in number to provide adequate convoy escort. Plus our shuttles fly at a much greater speed, thus are much less vulnerable from attack." The Autobot leader asnwers.

"Will we have a secured landing zone?" Jazz asks.

"Yes. The Peacekeeping force there will provide perimeter security." Prime replies.

A small chuckle from Brawn. "Yeah, We heard that before."

"Something to add Brawn?" The Autobot commander inquires.

"Oh...no sir, nothing at all." The Land Rover rebuttals.

Prime scans over his assembled team until he feels a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, he makes a slight smile behind his faceplate.

"What is it Elita?" The red Autobot softly asks.

"You're wanted in the communications room. It's the UN Security Council, I think they want a meeting with you." The pink femme answers.

"I'm about to leave on a mission. Can't they wait?" He queries.

"They say its very urgent. It concerns our current agreement with the humans, they want to negotiate a new one." The femme replies with a hint of worry.

"A new one? There is nothing wrong with the current agreement we have." He argues.

"They won't give me anymore details. It pretty much your eyes only at this point." His mate says.

He annoyingly exhales and looks at his team. "Jazz, you're team leader now..."

"I'll go in your place." Elita One interrupts.

"No, it's too dangerous there." He then looks at his second in command. "Jazz! Get Ironhide here..."

"I can take care of myself...Optimus Prime. I've been doing it isolated on Cybertron for millions of years. I can handle it." She retorts.

Prime knows that when his mate addresses him in his full name, she's annoyed with him. He knows she won't let it go, and grudgenly accepts.

"...Alright...you can go in my place." The red truck relents. "Be careful."

"I always do." She assures him.

The new team leader Jazz looks over the others and gives the order to board the shuttle. The last of the supplies are loaded and the landing pad is cleared. The engines start and the Autobot team is sent off on their mission of mercy.

The Autobot leader looks on in angst, knowing it should be him on that shuttle and not his love. He thought he lost her for good on Cybertron a long time ago, only to find her with a group of rebels. After their re-union, he never wanted to let her out of his sight for fear of losing her again. Every time she is sent on a mission without him, Prime always gets nervous and doesn't relax until she returns.

_She can take care of herself...still... its me who should be out there, its my mission._ The Autobot leader thinks to himself. _...What do the damn humans want now?_

Infront of a electronics store, a crowd assembles. Their attention is drawn to the lastest events happening not around the world, but right in their backyard. The words BREAKING NEWS scrolls at the bottom of the screen with the CNN logo in the top corner.

"Welcome. We have just received confirmed reports of disturbing events in Mexico. The motorcade carrying the directors has been attacked. There are no survivors. The purpotrators have been identified as a drug cartel hit team with help from corrupted local police officers. The drug cartel team hit the motorcade first with high powered sniper rifles and rocket launchers, destroying two Secret Service SUVs and a police helicopter, which was followed up by automatic weapons fire." The CNN anchor reports.

The anchor takes a breath and continues. "The motorcade's limos made a dash for the highway with a pair of police cruisers in escort. This is where things got alot worse as the escorting police cars slammed into the limos stopping them completely. Around half a dozen men exited the cruisers and attacked what was left of the motorcade, killing both NSA and Homeland Security directors and their secret service agents. No mercy has been given. We will have more details for you as events unfold."

The assembled crowd stare in hushed awe at this. Some closely holding their spouses, and a few wiping tears. Some leave and try to go about their business while some others just stay incase more comes to light. Other news reports are broadcast such as developments in the Persian Gulf, some Russian oil and natural gas facilities are beginning to increase output, and an air force C-17 Globemaster III crash lands into its own airbase causing massive casualties and collateral damage.

A door slides open and a winged figure enters the darkened room. The lights automatically turn on and brightly illuminates the space. The red/white individual rubs his right wrist which has an attachment wraped around it. It doesn't feel comfortable, but he will tolerate it for the time being. A new weapon developed for hand to hand combat, the energon blade. The winged figure is to test it the next day in actual combat, but he hasn't been in much of a fighting mood lately. His last conversation with his former brother has hit him hard, but he doesn't let it show as it will look like weakness infront of his peirs.

Starscream sits down on his recharge bed and looks at his new attachment, not paying much attention to it. He reaches over and taps on a console and a holographic screen pops up. He slowly scans through the files and clicks on an item in one of his personal folders. A picture of two Decepticons appears on the holographic screen, one a mech, and the other a femme, both are Seekers from the looks of their bodies, and are holding eachother closely while looking at whom ever is taking their picture.

Starscream takes two fingers and follows the facial features of the femme and mech. He could always depend on the two individuals for a sympathetic ear, and compassion. Not anymore though, not ever since their tragic passing, which has harmed Starscream the most. His two brothers weren't there when it happened, weren't there when he most needed a sympathetic ear or a compassionate gesture, they just weren't there when he most nedded them.

He realises that for the first time in his long life, that he is truly alone. No Decepticon respects him, his brothers now rejecting him, and a leader who shows him no mercy. Looking at the holographic pic, a little bit of pink fluid starts to leak from his optics.

He thinks to himself. _Why...why did you have to die?_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Disclaimer: Man I'm getting sick of this crap. I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story belongs to its respected owner. Good reading.**

With such a warm and sunny afternoon, many people decide to spend their time outdoors. Sidewalks are busy with pedestrians, street side vendors are swamped with customers, bars and restaurants are a buzz. One restaurant is enjoying its unexpected busy time...well, enjoying the most of it anyway.

"YES! THEY DID IT! THEY FRIGGING DID IT!" A girl yells out jumping from her seat.

The attention of the bar's patrons is once again focused on the table at the far end of the bar. Two young girls sit at the table with one of them occasionally jumping up and cheering or yelling at the large flat screen TV just up in the corner closest to their table. The first girl, short blond hair, bright blue eyes just jumps and cheers at the TV. Her friend, long dyed hair, blue eyes, hides her face in her hands.

"Hey Michelle, did you see that finish!?" The cheering one happily asks.

"...yes." Michelle replies with her hands still covering her face.

"That was just awesome! They get a podium finish AGAIN! The second time this season! And both Glock and Trulli finished IN the points standings too. I can't believe it! I love Panasonic Toyota!" The cheery blond cheers.

Still hiding her face. "Can we go now?"

"What? No way, we're having so much fun." The blond says then points at the crowd. "Come on, show the gawking crowd your pretty face."

"...i want to leave." The muffled voice requests.

The cheery blond hears footsteps getting closer and turns around, and faces a tall muscular man right in-front of her.

"Ok, last warning, keep your voices down or else you gotta go." The man requests.

"How 'bout a refill barkeep?" The smiley blond queries.

An annoyed look comes to the man's face. "You're not getting any more until you tell me your age!"

Inside the massive chamber of the United Nations Security Council, Optimus Prime with his long time friend Prowl, stand before the organization's permanent members. The Council members organize themselves, and their meeting may now begin.

"Welcome members and special guests, the Autobots." The American representative addresses. "The emphasis of this meeting is too negotiate and establish a new agreement between the United Nations and the Autobots. Let us begin."

"Greetings Council members." Prime begins. "I thank you for the invitation, however I must admit that I fail to see a need to establish a new agreement. Our current one has been in existenceexistance for many years, and we have honoured it."

"The old agreement is nul and void." The representative from France announces.

"Excuse me?" A puzzled Prime asks.

"The old agreement between the Autobots and the human race was made during a different time and place. Nations have come and gone since that agreement was made, world political structures have changed, and current events dictate a new deal be made." The Frenchman explains.

"And who decided this?" The Autobot master inquires.

"We did." The Chinese ambassador says.

Prowl steps forward annoyed. "Since when do the five of you speak for the whole world?"

Prime puts a firm hand on his colleague's shoulder, calming him slightly. Prowl looks back at his commander and Prime shakes his head. The members quietly mumble to themselves at this unexpected outburst.

"Prime." Prowl whispers into his leader's audio receptors. "This makes no logical sense. There is no need for a new deal."

"I know that." Prime whispers back. "Calm down. Let's see what they're asking for."

"My apologies. What is it you seek in this so called, new deal?" The red truck asks.

"Accepted, Optimus Prime." The American responds. "We are to establish a new level of cooperation between the United Nations Security Council and the Autobots. An agreement that will be clearly defined with specific roles. Those roles are as follows: support any investigation threatening international peace, support member nations to completely or partially enforce economic sanctions, and help to enforce United Nations policies militarily or by any means necessary. As well as mutual support from Decepticon incursions."

"You want to use my Autobots to meddle in your human affairs? I'm sorry, but that is unacceptable. My Autobots and your nation states have agreed, that we Autobots will defend humanity against the Decepticons where ever they strike, and in return, humanity would supply us with the energy we need to fight them. This agreement has been honoured by both sides for almost twenty five years and has been the staple of our relationship." The Autobot leader speaks.

"Elegant words, and we humans do appreciate what your kind has done." The French representative says. "However, this council believes that this agreement is no longer valid. Several of the signed nations no longer exist, for example: Soviet Union, East Germany, West Germany, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia, and Zaire just to name a select few. Also, the global political stage has changed drastically, and new threats to peace have emerged."

"So, as you can see Optimus Prime. This old agreement is no good anymore. This new deal will strenghen us both and greatly help stabalize the global system." The American concludes.

Prowl excuses himself and walks to the back of the council chamber and stands there briefly. He then quick steps to his commander's side and whispers into his audio receptors. "We have to go."

"Why?" The red truck whispers back.

Prowl sighs a little. "It's about Elita...something happened to her."

Prime's optics open widely at this revelation, and his anxiety jumps. He looks upon the Security Council members. "We have to go. My staff will look over your...proposal."

Before the members can say anything, the robot pair quickly step out. Leaving the United Nations headquarters, they are met with cameras and reporters from many media agencies. Ignoring their questions and requests, the Autobot pair enter the shuttle and soon take off.

The giant doors of the docking tower open and the Decepticon space shuttle rolls out. It stops infront of Megatron and Shockwave and unloads its cargo of infiltrators. The human form Decepticons disembark from Astrotrain and line up before their great leader who is very pleased with their performance.

"Scrapper, Onslaught. Your teams have done an excellent job. You have infiltrated into human society without being discovered for who you really are." The silver mech congratulates.

"Thank you, lord Megatron. We're just glad to be back, and are anxious to get back in our regular bodies." Scrapper gives thanks.

"Same here. Being in human form has given us some... interesting perspective on them. However, we just want to be ourselves again." The Combaticon leader says.

Megatron gives Onslaught an inquisitional look. "What kind of interesting perspective?"

"Well...we see a human mech and femme at eachothers' throat, but another embrace. A mother punishes it's sparkling, while another mother gives compassion. A mech breaks the law, but another brings him to justice." The human Combaticon explains and continues. "Wealthy humans enjoy their lives of luxury and ease, but the humans who labour for them go unappreciated, many even exploited. They preach tolerance, fairness, equality, and whatnot, but privately they believe in the opposite. Humans are a species of contradictions from what we saw."

"A very interesting insight on the humans, Onslaught." Megatron ponders.

He sends them off to the Pool of transformation located in one of the massive storage areas of the Decepticon base. Leaving the hangar bay, the group cross paths with Starscream. They can feel the thud of his footsteps while in human form which a few find the experience awkward.

"Hey 'Screamer." Scrapper yells out.

"How's the weather up there?" Skywarp jokes.

However, the Seeker walks right past them without any acknowledgement. The group just scuff, and chalk it up as typical Starscream arrogance and superiority complex. TC and Skywarp know that's not the case. Both saw that his optics had a slight tint of pink in them, probably from shedding tears. Both know that their former brother will be upset and embarrassed if attention is drawn to it. So, they just keep it to themselves. Even after their untimely split, the triplets know to respect eachothers' secrets.

Entering the hangar bay, the red/white Seeker sees his master with his companion alongside. The silver mech focuses his attention on the approaching jet.

"Ah, Starscream. About time you show up." The Decepticon leader sourly greets.

"...what are the specifics of this energon blade test?" Starscream replies without any sarcasm.

"What, no clever comeback? No sarcasm?" The silver master sarcastically asks.

"I just want to get this over with, and have this damned...thing off my arm." The jet annoyingly rebuttals.

"Ha ha. That's the Starscream I know." Megatron chuckles then continues. "You are to test this new weapon in actual combat against the Autobots. The destructive power of raw energon is contained inside a force field, which retracts back into the attachment when not used. The raw energon amplifies the force field's power greatly, making it an extremely powerful sword type weapon."

"Who goes with me?" 'Screamer inquires.

"Nobody." Megs answers.

"What!? Why don't I have any support?" The Seeker demands.

"You requested seperate assignments. So there you go." The Decepticon lord replies.

With an expression of disapproval; "I didn't mean solo missions! This is so like you. I request something, and you take it to the extremity! You don't give a sh-t about anybody but yourself! It doesn't matter who gets killed, as long as it serves the Decepticon cause!"

"Typical Starscream over reaction. Yes, I do want victory at any cost. The Decepticon cause won't be achieved without sacrifice, and if it means sending YOU or anyone else to their grave for it, so much the better!" Megatron declares to his Air Commander.

"Then answer this...Would you sacrifice yourself for the Decepticon cause if it meant victory?" 'Screamer asks with a smirk.

"If I die, who will lead the Decepticons? You?" The silver mech replies.

"Answer the question." The Seeker insists.

"I do not take orders from you!" The Decepticon leader says pointing at the Seeker.

"Do you serve the Decepticon cause...or YOUR cause?" Starscream questions.

"I serve the cause of victory! And how dare you question my loyalties and motives! You, a known traitor, backstabber, and coward! You're really some piece of work!" Megatron dogmatically responds.

"What's wrong fearless leader? Its alright for us to die in the great cause, but not you!? What makes you the exception?" The Seeker presses on.

"I am the leader of the Decepticons. My role as master and commander is indispensable. YOU on the other hand are not! I will not stand here and be questioned by the likes of YOU! Leaders make the strategies for victory, and the troops fight and die to make it happen. That...is the order of things." Megatron angrily explains.

"So calling retreats at the first sign of trouble is part of your overall strategy, mighty Megatron?" The screechy voiced jet taunts.

"I call the retreat because you idiots screw up a part of the plan which will spiral the rest of it out of control and get ourselves killed if I don't give the retreat order!" Megatron shoots back.

"We, so call, screw up your plans because your damned overconfidence causes you to ignore some vital strategic details! Also your f-cking horrid treatment of us doesn't do well with morale. Fear and intimidation aren't the tools a leader uses to drive his troops to greatness." Starscream replies.

"My tools of leadership instill loyalty and obedience. That's all a leader requires from his troops. Now get on with your mission." The Decepticon master says with an oddly soft voice.

The red/white jet turns around and walks to the docking tower. The doors shut and bring the Seeker to the surface. Still in the hangar bay, Megatron is steaming at his sub-ordinate's line of questions. Megatron will certainly have a private chat with the little jet once he returns. The silver mech punches one of the nearby containers, damaging it. His companion, Shockwave just stands by several meters away, and then slowly walks to his leader.

"Lord Megatron. A new development is happening on the world stage." The mono eyed mech says.

"...what?" The leader angrily responds.

"The nation state of Russia has invaded its neighbour Georgia. This has begun just this morning. Georgian forces are fighting back and the Georgian government is pleading to the other nation states for help. They will not last a longtime on their own." Shockwave explains.

"...Get Blitzwing to the briefing room now. We can take advantage of this opportunity the humans have made." The Decepticon leader replies in a now calmer tone.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story belongs to its respected owner. Good reading.**

Sitting on the bed of her hotel room, Lita plays on her laptop and occasionally looks at the TV. She reads and responds to emails from her friends and gets a chuckle from a couple of them. She emailed them about her stay at Autobot City some days ago, and was then bombarded with questions, especially from her tech savy friend Amy. Her ditzy, blond haired friend and her boyfriend sent pictures of their vacation in Hawaii, the scenery is just breath taking. The most recent email she got was from Michelle whom was completely embarrassed by her friend in a bar, although she understood that her friend was just overjoyed by finishing result of her Formula 1 team.

She finishes her business on her computer and fixes herself up to see the sights of Washington D.C. As she ties up her hair she looks at the TV to see whats on. She turns to CNN to catch up on what's been happening around the globe.

The CNN anchor reports of the latest developments from the Persian Gulf, where Saudi Arabian and Iranian air forces are beginning to probe eachother's airspace resulting in sporadic air battles. The American carrier, USS Kitty Hawk has finally arrived at it's Saudi port after an attempted attack from a fast moving boat, filled with explosives.

The anchor continues with the events in the southern U.S., where the U.S. has sent Army, and Marine units to help steem the tide of violence along their border with Mexico, those units were originally destined for the Persian Gulf. Mexican authorities have called this an over-reaction on the part of the Americans, and claim that their own military can prevent the violence from spilling into American territory.

The CNN reporter finishes up with a new happening from Europe, where war has erupted between Russia and its neighbour Georgia. Promises of updates when they become available.

Lita shakes her head and forcibly turns off the TV. Throwing the remote control to the bed, she exits the room. She enters the elevator and pushes the button for the ground floor. While riding down, she leans up against one of the elevator's walls, closes her eyes and slowly exhales.

_We're destined to destroy ourselves. _Lita thinks to herself.

In the midday afternoon, the sunlight shines down on the Lookout Mountain area, where sits the awesome Autobot City. The shuttle carrying the Autobot leader and his master tactician touches down on one of the landing pads at the rear of the city. With the engines powering down, its two passengers leap out and jog to the main doors of the hangar bay, where they are met with the city's commander; Ultra Magnus.

"Maguns! What happened?" Prime asks with quickness in his voice.

"All that I know is that everything went to hell, Prime." The City commander replies and follows his two compatriots.

The three enter the main hangar bay where the majority of the shuttles and other craft are held. Running by the shuttle used by the team, Prowl and Optimus notice damage done to it. Prowl stops and examines the various degrees of wounds.

"Ultra Magnus, what did this kind of damage to the shuttle?" Prowl inquires while rubbing his hand on a particular damaged area.

"Weapons fire. A mixture of 35mm autocannon rounds, anti-tank rockets, and a couple of air-to-air missiles. The attackers were packing some serious heat." The car carrier explains.

"Attackers? Why was the shuttle attacked? We were there on a humanitarian matter, not a combat role." Prime asks with a slight amount of anxiousness in his voice.

The city commander tilts his head to the side. "I don't know Prime. Jazz has all the details. He and the team are in the medical bay..."

Magnus gets cuts short as Optimus and Prowl race for the doorway.

"Just brace yourself, Prime!" Ultra Magnus bellows.

Racing down the various corridors, the red truck and his police colleague make way for the medical bay. Other Autobots simply jump out of their way and squeeze against the walls to prevent from being hit.

Entering the medical center, they see various recharge beds, mechanical lifts, and some robotic forms moving in the distance. Running to them, Prime recognizes one; Ratchet. The Autobot surgeon, dirty, some of his body panels dented and with some bullet holes turns to face the onrush of heavy footsteps.

"Ratchet! Are you alright? What happened!?" Prime quickly requests.

"Prime...don't worry about be. I'll be OK. If you want the details, please talk to Jazz. I'm busy with trying to fix Hound." Ratchet replies to his master then returns to his previous work.

Prime moves over to another occupied repair lift. He sees his second in command sitting up and being examined by Perceptor.

"Jazz. How are you?" The worried leader queries.

The Porsche, covered in dirt, damaged with what looks like heavy calibre rounds pierced his armour, and various dried energon and coolant fluid stains on his chest and left leg. He looks up and answers.

"Hey Primecoughs...I'll be fine."

"What happened?" The truck asks.

"We were attacked while finishing up the unloading of the first batch. The rebels drove up in trucks and shot at us with autocannon and rocket fire. We took quite a pounding so I gave the order to retreat back to the shuttle and leave the area." The wounded team leader explains.

Prime looks around and sees that one team member is missing. "Where is Elita One?"

"..." Jazz tries to come up with a respond.

"Jazz...Where is she?" Prime asks again.

The damaged Porsche reluctantly answers. "...she's in the other room." Then he points to a pair of doors at the opposite end of the medical bay.

Prime looks in that direction and sees the doors to where Jazz is pointing too, and also sees the sign above them: CASUALTY SORTING

If Prime had an organic heart, it would sink to his feet. The Autobot makes his way to the doors, which doesn't go unnoticed as he is confronted by Ratchet, Brawn and Jazz who leaps off his repair lift. Optimus Prime feels something grab his wrist hard and stops him in his tracks. Turning around, he sees that the hand belongs to the macho Autobot: Brawn. The Land Rover, covered in dirt like his team members, and also damaged with dents of various sizes and couple of burn marks looks at his commander.

"Boss wait! You can't go in there". Brawn says.

"He's right Prime. Its...it's best you just wait." Jazz agrees.

"What!" Optimus interjects.

Ratchet puts himself in-front of the big red machine. "I'm sorry Prime. I can't let you in there."

"What are you trying to keep from me!? I want to see Elita!" Optimus declares with increasing assertiveness.

The three bots exchange quick glances at eachother not knowing what to say. Prime makes a step forward but the trio of wounded bots keep him back.

"LET ME GO!" Optimus yells out.

The trio still hold him, and Prime knows they won't release him by just mear orders, so he tries a different method. He grabs Brawn's wounded shoulder and squeezes it. The look of discomfort on the Land Rover's face means that Brawn won't be able to hold on much longer. And the two other damaged bots don't have the physical strenght to hold him back, especially in their current state.

"Release my arm Brawn...NOW!" The red truck now visibly angered, orders.

Not seeing any other choice, Ratchet, Jazz, and Brawn stop what they were doing and let go of Optimus Prime.

Ratchet looks down and with a soft spoken tone he warns. "You won't like what you're going to see."

Running to the entrance, he barges into the next room. Looking around he notices a recharge bed which looks occupied and has some heavy equipment above it. He cautiously walks toward that occupied space, part of him wants to stop and go no further, but the other part wants to go on. A constant struggle between his logic and emotional circuits plays havoc with his CPU processor, as his steps become more inconsistent.

Reaching the inhabited space, Optimus Prime collapses to his knees at the sight. His optics open to their widest, taking every detail, and his logic and memory circuits process the imagery. His systems confirm that it's his lover lying on the recharge bed, what's left of her anyway. Her body, covered in a mixture of dirt, dry energon fluid, and moist coolant. Her blown, left leg still attached by just a few wires, the left arm completely blown off, and the shoulder destroyed with various fluid lines and wires exposed. The torso has received the most damage, the armour gone with burn marks that surround the massive hole in her chest. Fluid lines, wires, circuitry all frayed in every direction, and the spark chamber exposed. The bright pink and white paint job now darkened, and burned. Prime can hardly believe that this mangled form is the love of his life.

He gently puts a hand on her forehead and runs it slowly down the side of her face, trying to find a soft spot. Finding none, he softly grabs and holds her right hand. He ignores the approaching footsteps until he feels a hand being placed on his shoulder. Looking over, he sees his second in command with a compassionate expression.

"...how did this happen?" Prime asks with a saddened voice.

Slowly exhaling, Jazz explains in more detail. "We touched down in our designated landing zone, outside the Darfur camp. The Peacekeeping force there, UNAMID, sent some troops to establish a perimeter around the landing zone. The unloading process was going well and sometime later we were finishing up with the first batch."

He limps over to the recharge bed next to Prime and sits down. "A convoy of around, half a dozen trucks were soon spotted driving to our area. When they got to the LZ's makeshift gate, they were automatically recognized as the rebels. They jumped out of their vehicles and had an exchange of words with the UNAMID officer. And from the tone of their voices and the officer's radio chatter with his commander, we gathered that something was up."

"What happened after those rebels and the Peacekeeping troops had their exchange?" The saddened Autobot truck queries.

"...a minute later...all hell broke loose." Jazz reluctantly replies then continues. "The rebels opened up on us with anti-tank rockets and autocannon fire. Then, the rifle armed rebels charged in shooting at us. We tried to get whatever food and medical supplies back on board the shuttle before the rebels destroy or take them. We couldn't though, the overwhelming firepower they were packing just pounded us."

Prime just looks at his second in command in disbelief while he continues with the details of the sudden attack.

"Elita ran for the medical supplies, but she was struck by a couple of anti-tank rockets and autocannon fire. The rest of us were also peppered with guns and rockets. I knew we couldn't survive this, so I called the retreat. Brawn limped to Elita and carried her back to the shuttle while under fire. Ratchet and I boarded right after, and we took off."

"What of the Peacekeeping troops? They guaranteed your protection." The Autobot leader says.

Jazz thinks for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "The Peacekeepers...stood down from their positions."

"What?...They let...this happen?" The red machine questions with a shaky voice.

Jazz put his head down further. "In short...yes. The UNAMID soldiers there were ill equipped, too few in number, and have an unclear mandate."

The Autobot leader turns back and places his head on Elita's arm. Energon fluid begins to build up in his optics, he tries to fight them back, but is unsuccessful. For several moments, nothing is said, and Jazz stands off the recharge bed and limps his way back to the medical center's main area.

"...Jazz" A soft tonned voice names.

"Yeah, Prime?" The limping Porsche asks.

"You and your team did the best you could, that's all that I could ever ask for...Thank you." A grateful leader says.

"...anytime Prime." Jazz replies.

The Autobot master, still kneeling next to his lover's broken form, takes her hand and puts it up against his cheek, energon fluid still running down his faceplate. He looks into her darkened optics, finding no sign of the bright blue light that used to be there. Prime stands up and looks down on her, he reaches with one hand into her blown open chest and puts the spark chamber into his palm. He can feel the throbbing of her weaken spark and closes his eyes. _It was my mission. I was suppose to go...not YOU. _The red transport thinks to himself. _Why do you have to be so damned stubborn? Why can't you just accept my instructions and let things go sometimes? _He continues in his processor. _I don't want to lose you again._

In the main area of the medical center, Ratchet continues to work on the wounded Hound. His lower torso hit by a rocket knocked the green Autobot off his feet and disoriented him. Perceptor finishes his examinations of the damaged Jazz and begins his repair work. After several minutes, they hear doors open in the direction of the Casualty Sorting room. Turning around they see their leader walking toward them.

"...Jazz. I want to call a general meeting of the Autobots in the breifing room." Prime says with a neutral tone.

"Alright...when?" The Porsche slowly says.

"Twenty minutes." Optimus replies passing by his second in command.

In the huge briefing room, the Autobot command staff sit at the large semi-circle table while the rest of the assembled Autobots stand. The meeting has been called concerning the so called new deal that United Nations Security Council wants, and the catastrophe that was the Darfur operation. Optimus Prime has just finished explaining to all of what has happened and the reaction of his compatriots was of devastation. Their emotions clearly visible; a mix of anger, sadness, disbelief, and shock. A few even leave the briefing room, not wanting to hear if there is anymore to it, one collapses to its knees, and a couple of femmes can be heard sobbing slightly.

"THIS IS BULLSH-T!" Ironhide yells out while punching the wall.

"We help these creatures out, and this is what we get in return!?" Sunstreaker adds.

"Dammit, Prime why are we still risking our lives for a species that don't give a damn about themselves or others?" The now irritated Ironhide questions.

"...Everybody calm down. Getting upset like this won't change anything..." Optimus Prime tries to calm down his troops but is cut off.

"Calm down!?" The red minivan angrily interrupts. "We agree to help them with an impending crisis, then they shoot us in the back. And it ain't the first time they did this. In nineteen neighty four in Rwanda, we agree to help the UN with humanitarian efforts, then we get attacked by various rebel groups and government forces, and the UN Peacekeepers stand down letting it happen. The next year in Srebrenica, a declared safe zone, same thing. We help with humanitarian aid, we then get attacked by the various ground forces and of course the UN Peacekeepers let it happen."

"Those Peacekeepers were ill-supported, and had conflicting mandates, Ironhide." Prime explains with his head lowered.

"It just proves my point Prime." The red van says and gos on. "The humans make these edicts to stop violence and starvation, and blah blah blah. They promise to send help to those in dire need, and they don't back it up."

"Promises made. Promises broken." Sunstreaker agrees.

"And now the humans scrap the old agreement and want a new one." Cliffjumper adds. "Man, after what they did. They got some nerve."

"I for one am getting sick and tired of their excuses for every time we get shot at while helping them." Ironhide declares.

Prime can easily sense the hostility from his own kind. He lets them vent their anger, better here in the privacy of the briefing room than in public where odds are, someone would over hear it. As a leader, he must portray the proper image; calm, collective, understanding, and compassion. But he doesn't want too, not this time. Optimus is more angry than he has ever been, he wants to vent like his fellow Autobots, but knows that he can't, not right now anyway. What Optimus Prime wants is to hurt those who did harm his Autobots and his lover, he wants to hunt them down like animals and make them suffer, he wants revenge.

As the late afternoon sun passes over Washington D.C., Lita takes in the sight of the Reflecting Pool and takes a few pictures with her digital camera. She's been touring most of the day, visiting various monuments, museums, and other tourist attractions in the city. She'll need to download her pics to her laptop in order to free up space on the camera's hardrive. She finds a empty bench, sits down and pulls out the laptop from her backpack and begins the downloading process.

A couple of minutes later the peace and quiet is shattered by a massive gust of wind. Lita, in startled response puts her hands on her head and crouches down. She then looks around for the cause, but sees nothing until some person points up in sky. She looks up as the other people do and sees a jet. From her place on the bench, Lita slowly stands up and looks on as the jet quickly turns around and soars toward her at high speed. She and the other people around just stand and stare at the plane coming at them. Her concentration is then broken by the sound of a metallic sounding male voice.

"IT'S STARSCREAM!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're owned by Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner.**

Lita turns to the direction of the metallic voice and sees a red 2002 Pontiac Firebird accompanied by a blue 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 speeding toward her. A split second later, a powerful shock wave, followed by a loud crunch, forces her to the ground, churning up dirt and pieces of concrete. Looking up, she sees the Decepticon Starscream landed right on top of her, his right foot just a metre away. Lita wants to get up and run, but is too paralyzed with fear. All she can do now is just watch the events unfold around her. The two approaching cars transform into their robot modes and race to the Decepticon weapons drawn.

"HA HA HA!" Starscream laughs out loud, and quickly extends the energon blade. "Double the bots, double the FUN!"

"Split up Tracks! We'll get him on both sides." The red Autobot orders.

Tracks replies. "Got it Hot Rod! Hope my paint job don't get scratched."

Dodging the shots from the Seeker, Hot Rod fires his blaster pistol at the jet, with a couple impacting the ground near Lita, forcing her into a fetal position.

Aided by his engines, Starscream hovers several meters from where he landed and takes aim. The laser cannons let loose a burst of concentrated beams which slam into Hot Rod's path, which the Autobot leaps and dives for cover.

The Autobot Tracks runs through the water and fires. Only a few find their mark, making Starscream land with little grace. Ignoring the pain, he shoots a couple of missiles at his blue attacker which impacts the water in front of the Autobot. Tracks fires a couple of snap shots into the watery plums, but misses.

Covering her head and shivering in fright, Lita feels and hears the battle raging around her, and wishes for it to stop.

Hot Rod gets back up and with haste glances at the humans trying to escape the battle. He fires at the Decepticon. A few hit him in the back and one in a wing, causing Starscream to collapse on one knee, narrowly missing the terrified girl.

He yelps at the incredible pain from his wing, the most sensitive spot on a Seeker's body, and folds them onto his back to prevent anymore damage. Looking up, he sees the approaching blue mech, and raises his arm cannons. Big mistake, he'll soon realise.

Using the momentum, Tracks grabs the Seeker's arms, spins around, and flings him into the water. The red jet impacts with a wet and muffled thud. While looking for his gun, Tracks sees a ball like form.

"Holy crap." The Autobot Corvette realises. "Hot Rod! We have a civilian here. Possibly injured!"

The red Pontiac stands up and runs to his comrade. "I'm contacting D.C. Emergency services!"

A blurred form lands behind the Autobot Corvette, catching him by complete surprise. He crouches slightly and stretches his arms to keep balance. A glowing purple/pink blade slashes in a downward arc, cutting off the Corvette's left arm, and sends Tracks to his knees in agony.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!" Cries out the blue Autobot.

Hot Rod looks on in shock. "TRACKS! I'M COMING!"

A hand grabs Tracks' shoulder and spins him around. With an upward slash, the glowing blade cuts into the bot's torso and exits the upper chest. With the extreme rush of pain and shock, Tracks' systems shut down. Knocking the disabled Corvette to the side, the blade armed machine focuses its attention to Hot Rod in the distance.

"You're gonna pay for that a—hole!" Hot Rod vows.

"Wanna bet!" Starscream rebuttals.

The jet leaps into the air dodging his enemy's shots, and returns the favor with his own laser cannons. Still in the air, Starscream fires a couple of missiles and dives toward the Autobot. The Autobot jumps from side to side trying to avoid the onslaught, but a couple laser bolts impact him, which only manage to slow down the red bot. He is however knocked over by a missile hit to his chest, and is then flung backward by the concussion of the second missile impacting infront of him.

Disoriented, Hot Rod feels sharp hits to his shoulders from more laser fire. He then senses a sharp, cutting pain to the left leg, and collapses to his knees. A split second afterward, he feels a slash across his back and instinctively arches forward, then falls on his side.

"HA HA HA!" The Seeker laughs. "This thing is amazing. Finally, a weapon that hasn't failed on the first try."

The huddled girl, feeling that the battle has moved away from her location, braves a look. She notices the two combatants in the distance, one standing, the other laying on its side not moving. Scanning around she sees a blue robot, laying on the ground, and heavily damaged. She slowly stands up and begins to gather her things. Luckily, just her laptop, which she grabs and stuffs in the backpack. Sensing vibrations in the ground, Lita cautiously turns around and looks up. Her jaw slightly drops and her eyes open their widest as she finds herself staring into the bright red eyes of the Decepticon, who is staring right back at her.

Sudden high pitched whines break both their concentration. The jet crouches and looks up at the sky, seeing a quartet of jets. _It's the Aerialbots._Starscream thinks to himself. He looks down and sees the human girl, who is hunched over and covers her ears. The Seeker grabs her and lifts the human up to his chest. She looks up in terror at him.

"You're my ticket outta here, my dear." Starscream says with delight.

The Decepticon inserts the hostage into his cockpit while transforming, and then takes off. Seeing that, the wounded Hot Rod radios the Aerialbots.

"Hot Rod...to Aer...Aerialbots." He painfully communicates.

The F-16D Falcon answers. "This is Skydive. Go ahead Hot Rod."

"Do not...fire on Star...scream." He struggles. "He has...a hostage. Hold fire."

"Say again Hot Rod. Did you say Starscream took a hostage?" Skydive asks for confirmation.

Hot Rod tries to pull himself along the ground. "Confirm...Starscream has...a hostage."

"Copy that Hot Rod." Skydive relays. "Aerialbots, do not engage."

Each of the Autobot jets send a signal to Skydive, confirming his HOLE FIRE order. They keep their distance, and simply follow the Seeker.

At the battle scarred Reflecting Pool, the wounded Hot Rod reaches Tracks, and puts a compassionate hand on the Corvette's head. The sight of the city's emergency vehicles comes into view, as does the Aerialbot leader; Silverbolt. Relieved, Hot Rod allows himself to shut down.

Inside the main hangar bay, Scrapper directs the movement and organization of the latest shipment. The Stunticons have been brought in to help out when TC and Skywarp ended their shift. Scrapper's attention is then drawn to the opening doors of the docking tower. _Next shipment isn't due for another few days. _Scrapper ponders. Moving toward the opened doors, the constructicon hears footsteps coming from the darkened space. He slowly reaches for the gun behind his back, but relaxes when the emerging form is recognized.

Scrapper releases a relieved sigh. "Oh it's you, Starscream."

"Who were you expecting?" Comes the pondering response from the Seeker.

The Constructicon leader looks over the Air Commander from head to toe. Covered in dirt and drying mud, burn marks on his body, a hole in one of the wings, and splashes of various liquids. _That's gonna be quite the debrief. _Scrapper thinks.

"How did the energon blade work?" The front loader queries.

The only answer came as the form of a glance and a smirk. The puzzled Decepticon stares at the passing Seeker until he exits the main hangar bay.

Scrapper then clicks his communicator. "Lord Megatron. This is Scrapper."

"Go ahead Scrapper." Comes the reply.

"Starscream just arrived." The neutral tone says.

The hurt jet makes his way to the command room after hearing Megatron's voice bellowing through his personal communicator. On entering the command room, he sees fellow mechs occupying several computer stations. The monitors show various locations on earth and others show news reports of the latest events happening around the globe; America launching the first batch of satellites for its new missile defence shield, Iranian and Saudi naval and air forces engage in sporadic battles, and Russian oil and natural gas production increases as demand grows. Attention is then drawn to the Seeker's dirty and damaged appearance. Many having questioning looks on their faces, even the Decepticon leader gets the same reaction.

"Well Starscream. How was the test?" Megatron asks.

"I'm fine. Thanks for asking." Comes the sarcastic reply.

"If I cared how you were, I'd ask. Just give me the results." Was Megatron's response to the Seeker's typical sneering.

"I have to say, I'm impressed." Starscream happily says. Extending the blade from its housing, he looks over the weapon with content and gos on. "Finally, a weapon that hasn't failed on it's opening night."

Shockwave steps forward and examines the glowing sword. "How was the weapon's performance during actual combat conditions?"

"It's performance was admirable. Cutting right through the Autobots' armour without hesitation, and I was able to slice off ones arm with relative ease." The Seeker continued his debrief.

With a smile of approval, Megatron congratulates the red Seeker. "Well done Starscream. Looks like you actually succeeded this time." With a smirk, he adds. "A rare occurance."

"Much like you victory record against Prime's kind." Starscream throws back.

Everybody in the room stopped what they were doing, as the tension just spiked up. Starscream's come back wasn't taken well by the Decepticon leader, but yet they never are. Approaching the insulting jet with a clenching fist, Megatron is stopped by the sound of tapping. He hears the sound again and deduces it's coming from Starscream.

He points at the Seeker. "What's that tapping sound coming from you?"

Knowing what Megatron is talking about, the Seeker decides to let it out. At least the discomfort of having it banging around inside will be over.

"It's my ticket to surviving my last encounter." The red jet articulates.

A bodily form flops out of the opening cockpit and is caught by the Seeker's hands. Megatron, Soundwave, and Shockwave, move to the Air Commander and stare at his cupped fists.

Megatron looks up at the Seeker's face. "What...is that?"

"I told you. It's my ticket to surviving..." He tries to explain but is cut off by the silver mech's dismissive gesture.

"I heard you the first time." Megatron says with an annoyed tone. "What is that...thing?"

Starscream un cups his hands to reveal what is inside. The object, curled into a ball, slowly raises its head and glances around. Cautiously, it stands up and is in full view of the trio of mechs.

"A human femme." Says the monotone Soundwave.

With that declaration, the attention of every robot in the room is caught, and much idle chatter starts. Her discomfort increasing, she turns her head only to face another mech staring, and turns it yet again just to be under the red eyes of another.

"Why have you brought that insect here?" Demands Megatron pointing at the girl.

"I needed to keep her with me until I got to the base. The Aerialbots were pursuing me during my entire escape. If I would've let her go early, they would have attacked me. " Explains Starscream.

"You're worried about being attacked by the rookies?" Megatron queries with a hint of annoyance.

"They outnumber me five to one. Even I can't defeat them all myself."

"What, you couldn't of dumped it into the ocean just before you landed?"

"I had to be absolutely sure I was safe. Unlike YOU, I do not leave things to chance."

Strascream puts the girl gently on the nearby table, and then returns to argue with his master. She just stands there, head lowered, and arms tightly wraped around her backpack. Upon hearing some metallic sounding friction, Lita turns around and sees a couple of Decepticons standing before her. These two are much smaller than the rest, pretty close to human size, and are identical. Only their colour scheme differentiates the two.

"Hey fleshy". The blue/purple one points. "Hand over the bag if you know whats good for ya."

Lita holds on to her backpack even tighter and steps back without saying a word.

"What are ya? Deaf or just stupid?" The black/red one says. "My bro, Rumble said hand it over!"

"You said it Frenzy!" Rumble happily agrees.

With no response from the girl after several seconds, the two mini Decepticons decide to take it themselves. Approaching the girl, she backs up until she feels one of her feet on the table ledge. Turning her head quickly, she sees the Decepticon commander and her kidnapper still arguing. No one is paying attention to what is happening on the table, she is all on her own. Closing her eyes, she takes a deep breath; _They're just the same as the bullies from school._ Lita tells herself.

"Last chance fleshy. Gimme!" Demands Frenzy, now just a few feet away.

Opening her eyes, she throws with full force her backpack at Frenzy. The bag smacks him right in the face, catching the mech completely off guard. Quickly ducking she swings out her legs and knocks over the unbalanced Decepticon. Rumble, mouth wide open at the sheer sight of his brother being knocked down, quickly regains his composure and rushes the girl.

"Now you're gonna tumble with RUMBLE!" The decepticon declares.

At the last moment, Lita jumps to the side and kicks Rumble in the back as he passes by, sending him over the table ledge, and crashing onto the floor. The sudden commotion grabs the attention of Soundwave who sees his cassettes in distress. Grabbing the girl, he brings her to his expressionless face.

"Resistance: failed." The digital monotone voice says.

She yelps as Soundwave squeezes his hand around her body. _Good thing I got this after leaving Autobot City. _Lita thinks to hereslf. She reaches into her coat pocket, pulls out a gun like object, and points it at his visage. Two spike electrodes leap from the item and hits his red visor. Soundwave abruptly cocks his head back as fifty thousand volts course through the wires and shorts his optics. Releasing his grip, the girl drops the short distance to the table top, and comes face to face with an angered Frenzy. Forming his arms into the dreaded pile-drivers, the mini Decepticon aims them right at the girl. However, a black metallic hand whisks away Lita before she gets whats coming to her.

"That's quite enough little fleshy." Megatron declares while bringing her close to his face.

He turns his head abruptly as she spits at him. The Decepticon master turns back with much anger at the human. His eyes glowing bright red at being debased by such an inferior species. Unamused, Megatron faces his Air Commander. "This creature is just as insufferable as YOU!"

"HA HA HA!" Starscream laughs loudly.

"Enough!" Megatron orders.

"Why would I stop? This is hysterical!" The overjoyed Seeker says. "A frightened human femme, gets attacked by both Rumble AND Frenzy, and beats them! Then, mighty Soundwave tries to intimidate her, but instead gets shot by a high voltage taser gun. And they NEVER saw it coming!"

"Since you're so impressed, Starscream." Megatron articulates while pointing at his Air Commander. "YOU take care of it!"

A look of surprise comes to the Seeker's face fom hearing that. "What?!" He bellows with disbelief. "I am NOT a babysitter!"

The chuckling silver mech, loving the reaction of the jet then adds. "No...I say you're more of a daddy." He walks up to the reluctant looking Starscream and drops Lita into his cupped hands. "Congradulations. It's a girl."

Staring down at the human sparkling kneeling in his hands, her bright green eyes fixed on his face, Starscream lets out a breath of disapointment. _Crap. _He thinks to himself. _Maybe I should've dumped it in the ocean like Megatron suggested._

Upon Starscream leaving the room, Megatron brings his attention to the sightless Soundwave and the angered cassette twins. Soundwave's self repair system begins to bring his sight back online, and informs Megatron that no real damage was done, she just got lucky, that's all. Frenzy helps Rumble to his feet, and both want to get back at Lita. The Decepticon Lord walks to Shockwave who is examining the only items worth his attention in the girl's backpack; the laptop, cellphone, and the digital camera.

"Lord Megatron." The purple mech calls. "There is something you need to see."

"Alright. What is it Shockwave?" Megatron asks when approaching his operations commander.

The single eyed Decepticon shows him pictures of various Autobots. With much interest, the silver mech scrolls through more, his attention increasing with every passing pic.

"That is the Autobots' new super computer. Teletraan-two." Megatron says with some shock in his tone. "And these are pictures of...the interior of Autobot City."

"Confirmed Lord Megatron." Shockwave declares. "We were never able to get such detail of the inner workings of their city."

With one hand clutching his chin, and a grin on his face, Megatron revels at this development. "Primus. That girl just gave us the greatest intelligence coup in over twenty years on this planet."


	11. Future tense

**Future tense**

While writing and editing Chapter 11, I decided to give this little preview of things to come in a future chapter. Enjoy.

Looking up at the darkened sky, the thick dark grey clouds prevent the sun from peeking through, Lieutenant General Alan Chester stands beside his Stryker Command Vehicle. The noise of the ongoing battle creeps ever closer. Looking around him, other command vehicles clutter the area, officers and troops run to their assigned positions, and a few columns of M1A2 Abrams tanks with M2 Bradley IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicle)- the last of his reinforcements- drive along the road next to the HQ area on their way to the staging points. Above his HQ, a flight of F-22 Raptors fly low on their way to their ground strike mission across the river. He climbs onto his command Stryker and looks through his high powered binoculars.

Scanning around the National Mall and across the river, he exhales a sigh at the scenes around him. It used to be a beautiful city once. The seat of power throughout the country, a magnet for tourists, a center of education, and the epicenter of the country's military. Not anymore, the once magnificent city lies broken, battle scarred, and destroyed for the most part.

Feeling a tap on his leg, Lieutenant General Chester looks down to see one of his aides.

"General, sir." The aide addresses. "The Joint Chiefs are on the comm-link."

Climbing down into the Stryker CV (Command Vehicle), the city's defense commander briefly scans the various digital screens that line the vehicle's interior wall, and takes a communications headset. "This is Lieutenant General Chester."

A strong and stern voice comes over the comm-link. "General. We cannot allow the enemy to secure Washington. Destroy the Decepticon positions AT ALL COSTS." The voice pauses for a moment and continues. "IS THAT CLEAR?"

"Yes sir." Replies the General.

Tapping on a few screens, he opens communications to his ground and air commanders. "Ok people. Showtime!" Several seconds later green icons appear letting him know that they received and acknowledged his commands.

The twenty plane flight of F-22s split up and attack their ground targets at Boiling Air Force Base and Ronald Reagan National Airport. Flying through the flak explosions, the first group reaches the airport and drop their munitions. The Constructicons, insecticons, and other Decepticon troops find cover as the bombs explode around their positions. Across the river, the second group begin their strike at the air base. Onslaught transforms into his anti-aircraft vehicle form and fires at the incoming USAF jets, giving his Combaticons, and other Decepticon soldiers time to run for shelter. The bombs fall and burst around their locations sending smoke and debris in every direction. A few troops get injured, but they can still fight.

One of the columns of tanks and IFVs arrive at their staging point; Washington Naval Yard. Very little remains of the naval yard, the Decepticons' massive missile attack has destroyed much of it. Only a few damaged buildings remain standing. The tanks take their positions and the Bradleys unload their infantry at the makeshift fortifications at the beginning of the bridge. To the other side of the river along Anacostia Park, the Decepticon forces, from their defensive positions fire at the massing American troops. The M1A2 tanks, with a few TOW missiles from the M2 Bradleys respond in kind, and explosions ring out among the opposing forces.

To the west, along the George Washington Memorial Parkway, the other Decepticon force brave an artillery salvo, and faces down the American forces assembling across the Potomac river. The tanks, armoured vehicles, and infantry shoot back with everything they have.

Standing atop the gigantic Trypticon in its Battle Station mode, Megatron, flanked by Shockwave, oversees the battle. From his location in Arlington National Cemetery, the Decepticon master directs the flow of battle, just one more push, and the American capital will be his. Magnifying his optics, he can just barely make out whats looks like a group of armoured vehicles in what is called the National Mall, not engaged in the battle, but they emit much radio traffic. Must be where his counterpart is located.

Looking at the various screens around him, General Chester organizes the final details of his attack. _This has to work. _He says to himself. Grabbing his headset, he listens to his ground commanders at the Naval Yard and along the Potomac river.

"General! Decepticon positions are strong! We need air support!" Bellows the commander at the Naval Yard.

"Sir. Artillery bombardment insufficient! We need direct support from the air!" The commander at the Potomac recommends.

"On the way gentlemen!" General Chester promises and clicks the appropriate screens.

AH-64 Apache Longbows make way to the Naval Yard, while F-15 Strike Eagles head for the Potomac.

Seeing the enemy sending aircraft, Shockwave turns to Megatron. "Lord Megatron. The enemy are sending their air forces to attack our positions."

Looking up with a smile, the Decepticon tyrant responds. "Perfect."

After a minute, the silver mech atop the battle station lifts his fusion cannon over his head and fires a single shot. Among the troops along the G.W. Parkway, the huge Decepticon strategist, General Tankcore opens his comm-link.

"Now." He orders.

Hidden behind wrecked buildings and monuments a hundred shadows leap into the air and transform into various jet aircraft.

Seeing the sudden appearance of many air contacts, the lead F-15 pilot screams over his radio. "IT'S A TRAP!"

Coming to the Naval Yard, the leading AH-64 pilot sees the same thing and yells out. "BREAK FORMATION!"

The mass ensemble of Seekers quickly engage the incoming U.S. aircraft. One by one the jets and helos are blown out of the air, with very few pilots managing eject. Below the air battle, the ground forces simply stare in shock and awe at the sight above them, some dive for cover as pieces of their own aircraft fall on top of them. The simple distraction was just enough for the Decepticon forces across the Potomac and Anacostia rivers to fly over to the American positions and engage them at point blank range.

One of the infantry soldiers looks over as the Decepticons land around his position. "HOLY SH--T!"

General Tankcore kicks over an Abrams tank, and blows the one next to it with a shoulder missile. Driving at full speed across the bridge spanning the Potomac, two Leopard2A6 PSO (Peace Support Operations) tanks fire their 120mm cannons at the troops on the other side of the bridge. The hot plasma rounds reduce the fortifications to smoldering craters. After crossing the bridge, the pair of tanks transform into their robot modes and join the close quarter battle. The Seekers, once finished with ripping apart the U.S. air support, fly to the artillery forces at the Naval Observatory, and Gallaudet University. Without protection from ground or air forces, the artillery batteries don't stand a chance. The Seekers destroy the 155mm Towed guns and M109 Paladin SPA (Self Propelled Artillery) units easily, with their retreating crews being cut down without mercy.

Deeply exhaling, General Chester taps a few buttons and exits his Stryker CV. Slowly looking around, he notices that only his armoured vehicle is left, the rest of the HQ unit destroyed and burning around him. Glaring upward, the human sees a trio of large mechs staring down at him: the one on the left, Shockwave, the other to the right; General Tankcore, and finally the center one; Lord Megatron.

Soaring high above Washington air space, the pilot of the B-2 Stealth Bomber receives a coded signal. Upon uncoding the message, he nods at his mission commander. The bomb bay doors open and a single, white coloured object drops. Guiding itself to the co-ordinates of the message, the B83 nuclear bomb puts into perspective the phrase: at all costs.


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Disclaimer: I don't own transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Standing atop the tallest tower, Optimus Prime takes in the cool breeze that passes over Autobot City. The recent days have been one of the worst points of his life. The humans criticizing the actions of his kind, the UN Security Council's outrageous demands, the Peacekeepers' failure at Darfur, and Elita's current condition at the hands of the humans. The attitude of his Autobots toward them is beginning to change as well. More and more often, Optimus can hear his compatriots referring to humans as creatures, fleshys, and insects. Some are even talking about retaliating. Prime begins to worry that his transformers are maybe abandoning their Autobot ways and turning to the Decepticon way of thinking.

Crossing his arms and looking to the mountains in the distance, Prime contemplates. _Whenever the others need help or advice they come to me. But, who do I turn to? Where do I go for advice or help? _He lets out a long breath, however his state of deep thought is broken by the sound and sight of approaching jets.

_It's the Aerialbots._He says to himself. Prime notices a couple of them in robot form and carrying something in their arms. Zooming in his optics, the Autobot master recognizes the forms being carried. _Hot Rod, Tracks._ He runs to the roof's entrance.

Making his way to the landing platforms, the Autobot master come across a rushing Perceptor.

"Perceptor." Prime announces. "Why are the Aerialbots carrying Hot Rod and Tracks?"

The science master stops abruptly and acknowledges the big red machine. "Optimus, sir. I'm on my way to the medical center. Hot Rod and Tracks were in battle against a Decepticon. They lost big time."

"A single Decepticon beat them?" Prime questions. "Which one?"

Staring at his commander, Perceptor gives a single word answer. "Starscream."

The scientist turns and continues on his way to the medical center. Prime decides to follow the Autobot microscope as he believes more answers will come from there. Upon arriving to their destination, Optimus approaches the commotion. He looks in awe at the damage done to the pair; Tracks missing his left arm, a very deep gash from his torso to the upper chest, and various fluids stain his body. Hot Rod, his armour pierced by laser shots and a direct missile hit, shrapnel damage, two deep cuts on his leg and back, and the body also stained with his own fluids.

Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor quickly get to work to stabalize the systems of both bots. Prime stands back and looks on in nervousness. _Starscream did this?_The big red machine ponders. As time passes, the trio of medical mechs manage to stabilize the bots.

"Phew, thank Primus thats over with." Ratchet says with relief. "Alright, now we can finish with repairing Hound."

"Sounds good to me." Wheeljack agrees then turns to the red mech in the background. "Prime, we don't have too much left to do on Hound. Just fill and test the coolant system, and put the armour back on. Good as new."

"Excellent. Great work, all of you." Optimus says with a thankful tone.

The doors open and Prime walks into the room he most dreads. He has spent the entire time by her side ever since they arrived, with the exception of the past hour. The various equipment around her recharge table has stabilized her systems, though her spark is very weak. He kneels done next to the bed and places a hand on hers, gently rubbing it. Ratchet and Perceptor have done their best to save Elita's life, however she still hangs in the balance. After some time, Prime hears a sliding sound, he turns to see a figure standing in the doorway. The shadowy form comes to light, and Prime recognizes the red/white body.

"Ratchet. What is it?" Optimus inquires.

Uncrossing his arms, the Autobot surgeon walks to his commander's side, bearing some unwelcome news. "Hot Rod regained consciousness, and gave me some detail of the battle with Starscream."

"What kind of details?" Optimus queries.

"He took a hostage with him."

"A hostage? Who was it?" He asks with increased concern.

Ratchet clicks a button on his datapad and a holographic picture pops before Prime. An expression of disbelief washes over him as he recognizes the individual grabbed by the Decepticon. "...Lita." Prime says with great concern.

Walking down one of the many corridors of the Decepticon base, Thundercracker and Skywarp make their way to the main hangar bay, for another day of remedial and repetitive tasks. Ever since the falling out between Thundercracker and Starscream, Lord Megatron has given them second rate missions and remedial tasks, seeing that the unit cohesion has been lost. The Coneheads however have benefited greatly from their separation, having been given the premier missions from Megatron and finally emerging from the shadow of their rivals.

"Hey bro. This sucks." Skywarp exclaims while putting his hands behind his head.

"Yeah, I know. This kinda stuff is more suited for mindless droids, not elite air guard like us." Thundercracker agrees with an air of disappointment.

"Exactly, we're..." The black/purple Seeker gets cut off by the sudden sound of laughter.

"HA HA HA." The arrogant laughter bellows. "Elite Air Guard...yeah, right!"

Turning around, the brothers see a trio of Seekers leaning up against the wall, all with big smug smiles and the attitudes to match, the Coneheads. More like usurpers in the optics of the triplets.

"What the hell do you three want?" Skywarp inquires with a tone of annoyance.

"Definitely not to hang around with you two." Thrust says arrogantly while pointing at the Seeker brothers. "Lord Megatron needs our...superior skills...on another important mission. You guys know what that's like."

"Oh wait. They don't." Taunts Ramjet which gets a good laugh out of his fellow Coneheads.

Thrust' bragging was not taken well by TC and 'Warp, their unamused faces were obvious of that. The Coneheads push themselves off the wall and barge their way through Seeker brothers.

"Beep Beep. Move it second stringers." Dirge taunts.

Pushing Thundercracker aside, Thrust adds. "Make way peasants, make way." And gives a quick burst of his engines while passing by.

"Out of the way weaklings." Ramjet, high and mightily says while nudging Skywarp to the corridor's wall. "Oh, when my new couch arrives. Just put it near my recharge bed."

The brothers look at each other and get a devilish looking smile on their faces. Skywarp grabs Ramjet and POOF, teleports out of the corridor. In that moment of confusion, Thundercracker clutches both Dirge and Thrust by their throats, and slams them up against the wall.

Slowly looking up to their shocked faces, TC's optics glow a bright red. "I'm gonna show you what REAL engines sound like." TC spools up his jet engines, and a split second later, the Decepticon base reverberates from a sonic-boom.

Dropping the two Coneheads to the floor, Thundercracker watches them grasping their audio receptors in agony. Teleporting back to the corridor, a water logged Skywarp stands up, flapping his wings to dry them off. He looks at his brother who is obviously pleased with himself.

"Dude, I heard that." The wet jet smiley says.

"So did everyone else I bet." Replies the satisfied TC. "Where's Ramjet?"

"Taking a swim with a group of great white sharks." Skywarp retorts with a big grin on his face. Seeing his brother getting a grin of his own, 'Warp inquires. "You enjoyed that didn't you?"

"You damn right I did."

On the other side of the base, Starscream moves his hands away from his cockpit and opens it. An emerging Lita, her hands covering her ears, looks up at the Seeker with an inquiring look. "My ears are ringing. What was that noise?"

The red Seeker glares down at the girl, slightly grinning at her. "Thundercracker."

A couple of days after TC's base wide wake up call, operations have begun to return to normal. Megatron has handed down the appropriate punishments to those involved in the skirmish, and the ringing has stopped in the base's speakers. Activity at the 'Cons undersea base has increased with the arrival of new troops, and supplies from Cybertron. In order to avoid as much detection as possible, Megatron has ordered that the shipments arrive by space bridge rather than by shuttles. However, with more troops arriving at the base and the Space Bridge being used regularly, energon stockpiles have significantly decreased. In response, Megatron has assigned more soldiers to energon collection and has stressed the mantra of subtlety and avoiding combat.

Surrounded by holographic screens, the Decepticon master looks, and ponders his next move on the world stage. Blitzwing's mapping mission of the Caucasus region during Russia's military excursion into Georgia has revealed a new area to exploit later on. His attention however is concentrated on the events in the Middle East. The tensions raised there by his Decepticons have caused certain nation states in the region to begin fighting on their own. This has begun to effect the human economies as prices of oil and natural gas has greatly increased.

_Hmmmm, almost ready._ The tyrant thinks to himself. _Just one more note to add to my little symphony. _He puts a hand on a holoscreen next to his head and drags it over to his face. Looking at an image of the Persian Gulf with various little dots moving around, he tilts his head a little and taps one of the dots. _You'll do. _He thinks with a smile.

Shockwave is looking at his own set of holographic screens floating around him. However, he isn't paying attention to what is happening around the globe. He is solely interested in the images of Autobot City found in the girl's laptop, and digital camera. Ever since this discovery, Shockwave has been making a map of the city, cross checking Decepticon intelligence estimates with the girl's images. Slowly but surely, his map is coming together, however, some questions still need to be addressed.

"Lord Megatron." The purple one eyed mech says. "I need to speak to the human."

"What for Shockwave?" The Decepticon master asks.

"Confirmation. Certain intelligence estimates do not exactly match with her pictures."

With a nod of approval, the cold and calculating mech makes his way to the interrogation chamber. Walking down a hallway he crosses path with Soundwave. Stopping right in the cassette player's way, the one eyed mech looks him in the face. "Follow me."

Walking toward the interrogation chamber with Lita perched on his shoulder, Starscream wonders what line of questioning Shockwave has for the human. Arriving at the designated room, the Seeker recognizes the purple mech, and someone else standing off in the shadows. The shadowy figure steps into the light and sends a chill down the spin of the girl. _Soundwave _thinks the red jet.

"What is HE doing here? YOU wanted to speak to her." The Air Commander says pointing at the communications officer.

"I requested to Soundwave that he accompany me in my line of questioning." Replies the purple Decepticon.

"Put the human in the chair. Your presence: not required." Orders the monotone voice.

The Seeker gently grabs the girl and puts her on the floor. The blue mech opens his chest compartment and out comes Rumble and Frenzy. Both casually walk to the chair and check the restraints, then look up at the red jet with a devilish grin. The girl anxiously backs up, only to bump into Starscream's foot. She looks up at his face, the Seeker notices to expression of worry and puts his hand to the floor. She jumps on it and is brought up to his face. He whispers to her ear and after several moments puts her back on the floor. The cassette twins grab her and forcibly put the human in the chair strapping her down. Soundwave kneels down behind the chair and places both hands to each side of Lita's head.

"You're presence is no longer required Starscream." Suggests the purple mech.

Putting his hands on his hips, Starscream answers. "I'll stay."

Staring down at the human, Shockwave begins his interrogation. A three dimensional representation of Autobot City appears in front of the girl, with certain areas highlighted and others darkened. The highlighted areas represent parts of the city that Shockwave has successfully mapped.

Pointing at a certain drakened area, the operations commander asks. "This part of the city is coloured grey, and it seems to sit around certain structures. What is it?"

"I don't know." She responds.

"Is it the one called Metroplex?" Insists Shockwave.

"I said I don't know. They don't..grnnnn." Lita tries to respond but is quickly zapped by Soundwave. The pain is sever but she bites down and takes it.

The Decepticon cassette player looks up at the imposing Shockwave. "Metroplex: confirmed."

With a nod of approval, the logical purple mech continues. "On top of this tallest tower. Is this the primary communications center?"

"I don't know. They don't tell me everyth..grnnnnn" Getting zapped again she quickly bites down and tries not to scream. She huffs and puffs after the communications officer forcibly enters her mind.

"Confirmed: She does not know the location." Says the monotone voice.

"Very well." Replies the cold and calculating mech. Pointing at a new darkened area, a set of man made waterfalls with an edifice built into the rock face. "Are these waterfalls the primary source of power for the city?"

"No." She weakly retorts.

"Liar." Soundwave claims and once again forcibly enters her mind. "Confirmed: They are the primary source of power."

The agony of the interrogation goes on for some time. All the following questions still pertain to locations in Autobot City, such as the command center, Teletraan-2, the armoury, bridge controls, and so on. With every answer that Shockwave doesn't like, Soundwave invades her mind and gets it either way. He manages a few chuckles when he zaps her and breaks into her head, but only hearing her scream will satisfy him. Eventually, the answers she gives are not much more than moans, groans and half words. Drenched in sweat, eyes semi-closed, and barely keeping consciousness, the girl still refuses to give Soundwave the satisfaction. Remembering what Starscream whispered: _Soundwave enjoys giving pain and suffering to others, and hearing them scream is a sensation that is almost orgasmic for him. Don't scream. Don't give him the satisfaction._

Standing up, the interrogator Shockwave looks at the holographic representation of the Autobot City with much more highlighted areas. "We are done here." He turns to face the Seeker standing nearby.

Upon hearing that, Rumble grabs her by the throat. "Now it's payback time fleshy."

"I don't think so." The red jet objects.

Turning around and flipping the Seeker the bird, Rumble annoyingly replies. "What's it to you 'Screamer?"

The hot headed Frenzy backs up his brother. "Damn right bro." He glares at the Air Commander. "Mind your business Seeker, she's ours now."

"She IS my business!" The now angered jet bellows and points one of his laser cannons at them.

Soundwave stands and steps forward but stops in his tracks when the ominous pink/purple blade quickly extends from the jet's forearm. Even the so called tough guys Rumble and frenzy stop, somewhat shocked at the Seeker's unexpected behavior.

Glaring at the expressionless face of the communications officer, the red jet asks. "Want to feel what the two Autobots did?"

The trio back up when the jet steps forward, gently picks up the human and leaves the room. The silent Shockwave looks on and is somewhat confused at this display of illogical behavior on the part of the Seeker. Feelings and emotions can really cloud ones judgement and get in the way of accomplishing tasks. With an idea coming to him, Shockwave leaves the room.

Sailing on a eastern heading, the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk, along with her escort ships prepare to met up with another carrier strike group: USS NIMITZ, accompanied by her own escorts. With the current level of hostility in the Persian Gulf, the flight deck of the Kitty Hawk is kept busy at all hours. The early morning sun peeks over the horizon, and illuminates the flight deck of the carrier. A pilot waits by his F/A-18 Super Hornet at the rear of the deck. Looking at one of the Aegis class cruisers, something catches his attention. Picking up a set of binoculars, he focuses on the object; a shark like creature clinging to the aft of the cruiser's hull, just above the water line. The pilot shakes his head and looks again, but sees nothing this time. Chalking it up as his imagination, he climbs into his aircraft and makes his pre-flight checks.

Hearing a loud bang in the distance, the pilot looks over and sees the aft section of the cruiser set aflame and smoking.

The loud speakers on the deck come to life. "All crews! General quarters! General quarters!"


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Disclaimer: I don't own transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

The night sky is clear and the moon shines brightly. The moonlight illuminates the pines that line the highway. Turning a corner, a red transport truck cruises along. Taking the advice of Ratchet, Prime takes a drive to keep his mind occupied with something else. At this time of night, there is barely an other traffic on the road, just the occasional transport truck which honks its horn- sorta trucker's greeting- at him.

With such a huge amount of stress in the past few weeks, Prime has received some good news for a change. Ratchet has found the parts for Elita, they'll arrive in one of the next shuttle runs from the transfer point on the planet Iod. The thought of holding his loved one again takes his concentration off driving, however its brought back by sound and feel of gravel and dirt. Quickly regaining control, he pulls himself off the soft shoulder. _Nobody saw anything, nobody can prove anything. _Saying to himself.

Hearing the whine of turbine engines, Optimus scans the sky and sees a silhouette of a jet aircraft. Running through his memory banks, he searches for a being that matches the silhouette. Finding it, Prime speeds up. _Ramjet, _he tells himself. His proximity alarm goes off, and Prime brakes hard. Coming to a screeching halt, his head lights shine on an object laying in front of him. Transforming to robot mode, Optimus turns over the form, and a rush of awe hits him as he recognizes the body.

"Lita..." He says in silence. Slowly and carefully, he puts her in his cab while transforming.

* * *

Aboard USS KITTY HAWK, the crew man their battle stations. The sudden explosion on the aft section of the nearby Aegis class cruiser has caught the entire battle group by surprise. The cruiser's crew work quickly to put out the raging fire, while fighters are launched from the carrier, and ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) helicopters lift off the Destroyers and Frigates. Assuming that a second strike is coming, the CBG's (Carrier Battle Group) commander has ordered a complete scanning sweep of the surrounding area with radars and sonars.

The sonar crews aboard the escort ships pay extra attention to their screens though, since the Admiral belives that they might have been attacked by Iran's new Hoot torpedo.

"Sir, I'm telling you." Says the sonar crew chief. "Nothing came up on the screens. I even ordered a complete diagnosis of the sonar system. No glitches. The system's clean."

"Keep scanning around. Contact the Destroyers and Frigates and find out what their sonars show." Orders the officer.

"Aye, Sir." The chief obeys.

On the bridge, the Admiral and his command staff comb over what little information they have. Finding nothing useful so far, they focus their efforts on preventing a further attack, that's IF they were attacked at all. His thoughts are abruptly interrupted by his communications officer.

"Admiral!" The comm. Officer says with urgency. "Our supply ship reports large explosion below its waterline, bow section!"

"What is the damage to the ship!?" The veteran commander relays.

"Explosion has ruptured the forward hull. They are taking on water, but water pumps have now come online. Fire is raging in affected compartments, and fire crews are on scene."

The commander steps to the communications station and stands over the operator's shoulder. "What compartments have suffered damage from explosion and fire? And have they received any radar and sonar contacts prior to impact?"

"Supply ship says no contacts prior to explosion. Affected compartments are munition stores. Smaller secondary explosions have disabled fire suppresion system in said compartments." The officer relays to his commander.

"Tell them we're sending over fire teams and helos to evacuate casualties."

"Aye Sir!"

Walking to the bridge's door, the commander grabs his binoculars as he wants to see the supply ship's predicament first hand. Upon reaching the door, he stops as the communications officer calls for him again.

"Admiral Sir!" He bellows. "Receiving comm from USS Nimitz! They have suffered damage from a pair of explosions on the starboard hull along the waterline. Zero contacts on their radars and sonars!"

The Admiral scratches his head and ponders this new development. He takes in all the information put to him and comes to the only conclusion currently possible. "Mines! We're inside a mine field, and it seems that the Nimitz Battle Group has entered another one." He glances to the radar station. 'What is position of the Nimitz and her escorts?"

The radar operator looks over his screen. "Sir. Nimitz Battle Group is located in the Strait of Hormuz."

"Holy crap. They actually did it." The fleet commander conveys with an air of disbelief.

* * *

Slowly, the darkness comes to light, and everything is blurry. Giving a tardy moan, the female rubs her head that's just pounding, and shuts her eyes again. Hearing a voice calling, she opens her eyes and tries to focus on the shadowy figure.

"Miss Lita." The shadow says.

"Mmmmm...wha?" She moans

"Miss Lita. I'm a doctor." A male voice claims. "You're at St. Thomas hospital."

"How did...I get here?" She asks tiredly.

"The Autobot called Optimus Prime found you and brought you here."

"How long...have I been..?"

"You've been at the hospital since last night. You were unconscious when you arrived. We found numerous bruises on your body, luckily no broken bones or anything too serious."

"My head...and gut hurts."

"You suffer from sever malnutrition. We put an I.V. to your arm to replenish your system with vitamins and nutrients. Once that stabilizes your body, you can start to eat again."

Feeling a few vibrations, she looks over to the window and sees a massive but familiar face.

Smiling slightly, she greets her visitor. "Prime...hiii."

"Hello Lita." The Autobot master softly replies.

The evening sky begins to set in as activity around the hospital entrance increases. Inside the lobby, the girl sitting in a wheelchair is being released to much relief. Gently, the small yellow mech, Bumblebee, pushes the wheelchair through the front doors to an awaiting Optimus Prime in his vehicle mode. Departing, Prime is surrounded by the likes of Bumblebee, Cliffjumper, Ironhide, Chromia, Arcee, and the newly repaired Hot Rod, and Tracks. Keeping a constant vigil, the Autobot convoy makes its way to their fare city. Over head, the red A-10 Thunderbolt, Powerglide keeps a birds eye view. She was taken by the Decepticons once, and Prime wants to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Upon reaching Autobot City without incident, most of the escorting bots go about their business with just Bumblebee and Hot Rod staying with Prime. Slowly, the girl exits the red semi-truck under her own power while Bumblebee keeps his hands close by just in case she loses balance.

"Thanks for the ride." She gratefully says. "I think I'll turn in though."

"Didn't you get enough sleep at the hospital?" Queries Bumblebee.

"Yeah...I did, but I'm still feeling the effects of the...sed...sedatives." She replies, then gives a yawn.

Transforming to his robot mode, Optimus Prime kneels down to the human. "I understand. You've been through alot." He then points to one of the two mechs next to him. "Hot Rod will stand guard while you rest."

With a nod of approval from the girl, Prime and Bumblebee leave the human sector of the city and go about their own way. Looking down at the femme entering her room, Hot Rod takes his place and checks his handgun blaster.

"Don't worry Lita. No Deceptif-cks are gonna get you while I'm here." Assures the confident sounding bot. "Not even the flyboy Starscream."

"Didn't he kick your ass in Washington?" Queries the girl with a smirk.

A look of annoyance and inquiry comes to Hot Rod's face. "Heh. He just got lucky, nothing more." Pointing at himself, he continues. "All the skill is right here sweetheart."

"Uh Huh. Good night Hot Rod." She retorts with a hint of taunt in her voice.

After she enters her room, the guardian bot cocks his head a couple of times and prepares for a long shift. "I got skill." He says to himself. "Damn 'Cons got nothing on me. Nothing... especially the flyboys,...all flash no dash."

The girl can hear Hot Rod's banter through the walls of her room. Getting ready for bed, she looks around the utterly silent space- which execption of Hot Rod's muffled rant. _Doesn't that arrogant sh-thead ever shut up? _She ponders to herself, then fastly falls asleep.

* * *

The sun beams down on the buildings and runway of the Bushehr Air Base. Sitting next to the window of the base's mess hall, a young pilot takes a sip from his tea cup and chats with his squadron mates. The past several days have been very tense for everyone as fighting has begun between them and their Saudi neighbour, luckily the fighting has been sporadic and only concentrated between the air forces. The Saudis have been screaming for the U.S. to honour it's alliance with them, however the Americans have yet to commit, though nobody knows how long that will last.

The peace and quiet comes to an abrupt end as alarms blare throughout the base. The mess hall door opens violently as the pilots and navigators rush to their awaiting jets. With the engines already started by the ground crews, all the pilots have to do is climb in and take off. The young pilot and his navigator climb into their F-14 Tomcat and speed down the runway.

* * *

Walking into the communications center, Optimus Prime notices his master tactician surrounded by holographic screens. Curiosity picking, Prime strolls toward Prowl to query on what he's doing.

"Prowl." He greets while glancing at the scene before him. "Penny for your thoughts?"

"Oh, hi Prime." He replies a little distracted from his current task. "I'm trying to figure why the Decepticon fleets and the Decepticons here on earth have suddenly changed tactics." He explains and continues. "Their battle fleets have been staying in harbour for a couple of months. And now this... the Decepticons here on earth have been avoiding battle at all times. They collect energon, then immediately leave when we or human forces show up. This is a complete reversal from their usual and expected ways. It makes no logical sense."

"Ironhide has been telling me the same thing." The Autobot master says. "He lead several teams to counter-attack the Decepticon raids. But, they just leave when our forces arrive. Not even firing a single shot."

"That's not the only thing Optimus." Prowl adds and turn a few holographic screens to his commander. "Look at these. You recognize these Decepticons?"

"Hmmm...A few yes. But, the rest no."

"These ones are new arrivals. Look, I've been cataloguing every Decepticon that's on this planet since we crashed here on earth. These ones have never been here before."

Prime takes a closer look at the screens. "They've taken earth vehicle forms as well."

"Correct. And take a look at this." Prowl drags another screen and drags it to Optimus. "The Decepticons have removed their garrisons from three solar systems in the past week. Allowing us to take those systems with ease. However, they have left traps for us to deal with."

Optimus Prime steps back and ponders this new information. This move from the 'Cons is very unexpected and he doesn't like it one bit. Rubbing his head slowly, an idea comes to him. "Prowl. I want a couple of these rookies taken and brought back to me."

* * *

Walking by the electronics department of the mall, Serena and her lover notice a crowd assembling in front of the plasma TVs. Both approach the gathering to see what all the hub bub was about. Looking at the screens the American President makes his speech.

"Greeting my fellow Americans. Events in the Middle East during the past week have risen tensions to heights unseen since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The sporadic fighting has been restricted to Saudi and Iranian air forces, however, several hours ago American forces have been dragged into it. Two Carrier Battle Groups in the Persian Gulf have hit what seems to be mines. A few ships, including the carrier NIMITZ have suffered damage and over one hundred American navy personnel have been killed. The Nimitz Battle Group was crossing the Strait Of Hormuz when she hit a couple of mines. The Iranian government has denied mining the Strait and the Persian Gulf, however with their past threats of doing so and no credible evidence to support their denial, the Iranians have met with much condemnation." He takes a drink from his cup and continues. "Consulting with the Joint Chiefs Of Staff and our Middle Eastern allies, I have no other choice but to fully commit our military to remove the threat that Iran poses. As of an hour ago, the United States is at war with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thank you for your time, god speed."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 13**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

**Note: Some of you may have noticed that in the story description it reads "Tranformers Universe" instead of the original "G1 Universe". I have changed it to Transformers Universe because I will be adding a few characters that aren't G1 in some future chapters. I thought I would warn you people first before I get heckled with the "They aren't G1 'bots" comments.**

Standing in the communications room with a holoscreen before him, the Decepticon master smiles with glee with the events of the past three days; the apparent confusion from the Autobots, the so-called _mine _incident on the American carrier groups, and the declaration of war that followed. With the American declaration of war came a massive insurgent uprising in Iraq in which U.S. troops are desperately trying to, at least, contain much less extinguish. Matters for those troops has worsen as Iranian ground forces have begun probing attacks along the border. With the Middle East set aflame, PHASE three has been set in motion, though the Decepticon master still retains some interest in the region.

"Excellent work SnapTrap." The silver mech gladly says. " You and the Seacons are to keep me updated on the American carrier groups, and any other warships the Americans send to the region."

"Thank you Lord Megatron." Answers the Seacon leader. "The American carrier groups we have attacked are docked in their Saudi and Bahrain ports. The damaged ships are expected to stay there for about a couple of weeks or so. The sticky bombs we placed tore through the hulls and cause much internal damage."

"So the Americans are left with just one carrier in the region and it'll take around a couple of weeks until another carrier fleet will arrive."

"Yes Lord Megatron."

Grasping his chin, deep in thought, the silver mech opens another holoscreen and glares at it for a moment, then returns to the Seacon leader. "Very well. Keep me posted SnapTrap."

With a nod of approval from the Seacon, Megatron closes the screen and lets out a long breath. Grabbing the back of his neck and gently rubbing it, he decides to call it a night.

"Shockwave. I'm going to rest. Wake me if the situation is urgent." Informs the tired sounding voice.

"Before you retire Lord Megatron. I request your permission to hire a few mercenaries." Says the purple cloured operations commander.

"Which ones do you have in mind?"

The mono eyed mech turns the holoscreen to his leader. "These two have the skills perfectly suited for infiltration, reconnaissance, and extraction."

Looking at the screen, the Decepticon lord briefly ponders the idea. "Barricade, and Blackout...fine. Hire them if you must."

"Thank you Lord Megatron."

Elsewhere in the Decepticon base, two figures emerge from the docking tower. Walking out, Thundercracker and Skywarp move aside to let others board. They're new arrivals, probably going out on a training mission to get familiar with this planet's topography. From the looks of them, they're Seekers, quite young looking too, fresh out of the air force academies both gather. A trio of mechs follow up behind them, causing TC and 'Warp cringe at the sight.

"Skywarp, Thundercracker. How was the Sunday drive?" Taunts Ramjet. "Did Miss Dazy enjoy her ride?"

"Ramjet. You look like the face on an insecticon's ass." Skywarp shoots back.

Not wanting to suffer another round of punishments from Megatron like last time, the Coneheads and Seeker brothers simply exchange dirty looks at they pass. As the doors of the docking tower shuts, the Coneheads flip the bird to the brothers when their backs are turned.

"Hey Thundercracker." Calls the black/purple Seeker. "Lets go to the mess hall, my reserves are low."

"I could use a nice drink right about now." Replies TC.

"Thundercracker?" An anonymous female voice queries. "Thundercracker, is that you?"

Hearing his name called, TC turns around with a look of curiousness. Seeing a femme Seeker stand before him, TC searches his databanks and matches the image and voice pattern.

"Hey, Foxbat. It's been a long time." TC happily greets.

"Too long." She agrees with a grateful tone and smile. "Skywarp. It's good to see you again."

"Foxy Foxbat. You're still pretty as I remember." Jokes 'Warp.

Giving a giggle, Foxbat replies to the Seeker's comical greeting. "Still the joker after all this time. You still pulling your pranks on others?"

"Whenever the mood suits me." The black Seeker happily replies.

"We're on our way to the mess hall. Wanna join?" Asks TC.

"Sure." She accepts with an appreciative smirk and tone. "Lead the way."

The mess hall has been getting very crowed as of lately. More and more Decepticon troops have been arriving on a regular basis, and it's been getting almost impossible to find an empty table. Skywarp gets in the long line to get energon cubes as TC and Foxbat search for a place to sit. Finding one, they quickly claim it before someone else does.

"So TC. Still fighting for our glorious cause?" She queries with a grin.

"Whenever my heart's in it." Comes his quiet reply.

"He he. Still the shadow of doubt. Just like I remember." She says with a soft voice. "How's your brother, Starscream?"

Thundercracker pauses for a moment, trying to choose his words carefully. "He's...the same as always; alone, distant, passionate and arrogant."

Skywarp eventually shows up with a trio of cubes cradled in his arms. After a while of consuming their cubes and catching up on old times, the three Seekers decide to go about their own way. Walking down a hallway to his quarters, TC thinks about the events of the past few days: Megatron restoring TC and 'Warp back to flight status since no other Seekers are available for patrol, the punishment of repairing all the speakers in the base, and now re-united with an old friend. Reaching his quarters, TC feels a hand on his shoulder and quickly makes an about face.

"Foxbat. You startled me." He says with a breath of relief. "You need something?"

She looks him straight into the optics and reaches for his hand, but TC quickly pulls away before they make contact.

"Sorry TC. Just wanted to see if you still felt the same." She apologizes. "Still not the touchy feely type are you."

"Nope." The blue jet replies.

"After all this time...what they did still haunts you does it?"

He takes a deep breath, feeling his anxiousness rise. "Not exactly something you just...forget about. No matter how long ago it was."

With her head slightly lowered, she continues with a hint of sadness in her voice. "The Autobots really messed you up..."

"Foxbat, it's wartime."

"I don't care! It still doesn't condone what they did to you!"

Quickly, TC decides to change the subject. "I'm sorry, Skywarp and I had a long patrol today. I'm gonna turn in."

"...Okay. I'm sorry for...throwing it on you just like this. I...just wanted to know."

"It's alright. Don't give it a second thought." TC accepts.

Foxbat, feeling some tension rise, decides to get on her way. "Look, I gotta go. Megatron wants me and a couple of others to see how the war in the Middle East is progressing."

"What earth jet you chose?" Queries TC, trying to ease the tension.

She transforms into her alt mode, with Thundercracker looking on, taking in every detail of her new form.

"F-14 Tomcat...nice choice. It suits you." He says with a tone of approval.

"Thanks. I got it while flying over the nation state of Iran the other day. That young pilot wouldn't hold still his aircraft, took a while to properly scan it. To his credit though, he's got some good moves." Explains the female jet.

Transforming back to her robot form, she gives a smile and gets on her way. "I'd better go. Talk to you later...shadow of doubt."

* * *

In the mist of the communications room, Optimus Prime converses with his naval strategist.

"Have any other details come up since last we spoke Seaspray?" Queries the Autobot master.

"None sir." Replies the mouthwash gurgling sounding voice. "Me and Broadside have sent stealth ships to penetrate the Decepticon naval yards, but most have been unsuccessful." He pauses and continues. "The Decepticons have set up tachyon nets which causes the cloaking devices to fail on our stealth ships when they get too close to the nets. We've lost several ships in the process."

Prime lets out a long breath, obviously disturbed by the news of the lost ships and crews. "They haven't died in vain, Seaspray. I promise you that." Pausing a short moment, he goes on. "In light of this, I don't want anymore un-necessary risks taken. If we can't get any viable information from the naval yards, then I won't risk anymore lives for it. Now, you said that MOST have been unsuccessful. What have the successful ones found?"

"The Decepticon battle-fleets are staying in the safety of their harbours and re-organizing. It's not just some simple putting a fleet here and another there, but specific ships with specific capabilities and classes. All modern and brand new ships are being assembled into the same fleets, while the older and less capable class of ships are re-organized into other fleets. Unfortunately, we don't know what missions or objectives the fleets will have once they're re-organized." Theorises the blue/yellow bot. "If you ask me Prime, we need to get a 'Con or two and make them talk."

"Seaspray, you gave me alot more than what I had just a day ago." Optimus retorts with gratefulness. "Yes, I have had the same idea of capturing a Decepticon as well. However, the Decepticons here on earth have been avoiding combat at every turn. By the way, how's Allana."

"She's doing fine. That Decepticon incursion some time ago really put them on edge, but they've since begun to relax. They'll be ready next time the 'Cons pay a visit." Seaspray happily replies.

With a nod of approval, Optimus closes the holoscreen and is then called by his Special Operations Commander.

"What is it Jazz?" Asks Prime.

"Just got a comm from Ironhide's team. They encountered a force of Decepticons raiding a Nigerian oil platform." Explains the up beat second in command.

"And?" Queries the Autobot master in suspense.

"We got one." Jazz replies in triumph.

To the human sector of the city, Lita, perched on the shoulder of Hot Rod listens in on his conversation with the Aerialbots. Wearing her jacket and ballcap to cover from the wind, she bears the cooling temperatures.

"I'm telling you guys, get those Decepticon flyboys on the ground and their combat effectiveness is reduced. THAT'S when you strike." Tells Hot Rod.

"Roddie, the trick is too get them on the ground first. That's when we Aerialbots come in. We'll blow them out of the sky with our superior skill, THEN you ground pounders can have what's left." Brags Slingshot.

"Oh please Slingshot. You Aerialbots couldn't shot down a 'Con flyboy if you guys had an electrified shoot down machine." Retorts the Autobot sports car and continues. "Look, my Wreckers and I have the firepower and skill to EASILY take down the Seekers, even their aces. And we can help you Aerialbots out with taking them down."

"Ha. This'll be good." Comments Skydive.

"Let me finish." Conveys Hot Rod. "We Wreckers will use our firepower to damage them in the air. After which they'll be much less effective, and then you Aerialbots simply soar in and shot them while they're limping about. It'll greatly help you guys get experience against them, AND will also give you guys much needed confidence in fighting them."

After a moment with nothing being said, the Aerialbot Slingshot breaks the silence, clearly un-impressed. "That is the biggest load of bullsh-t I ever heard!"

The exchange of comical and arrogant insults between Hot Rod and the Aerialbots gets broken up by the laughter of the human sitting on Roddie's shoulder. Eventually she manages to stop laughing long enough to add her own view to the conversation.

"You guys are so funny!" Lita says with some giggling mixed in. "You, Hot Rod got your ass kicked by just ONE Decepticon Seeker, AND you had a partner with you!" Looking over to the Aerialbots she goes on. "As for you Aerialbots. Just ONE of their elites can take out ALL of you! You're just ranked amateurs compared to the Decepticon flyboys."

Slingshot opens his hand to Rod's shoulder and Lita carefully steps on it and sits down. Bringing the female to his face, Slingshot challenges. "Name one."

"Starscream." She replies.

"Two words: Bull crap!" Exclaims the hot headed Aerialbot.

The human femme stands up straight and with a cynical smirk, delivers the coup de grace. "Wanna..bet!"


	15. Wolf in sheeps clothing

**Chapter 14**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

The cool wind continues to blow across Autobot City as a group of bots head to the towers. Leaving the human sector so that Lita can sleep, Hot Rod and the Aerialbots consider the conversation they had, including its awkward end.

"Well, that certainly shut us up." Considers Slingshot.

"Yeah." Agrees Hot Rod. "That...came out of left field. Wonder what made her say all of that."

"I know. Sounded like she was actually defending the Decepticons, including Starscream, her kidnapper." Analyses Skydive.

"Anyone have an idea why she acted that way?" Queries the Autobot sports car.

"Well..." Ponders Skydive. "She could have something called Stockholm Syndrome. It's when a victim of a kidnapping or hostage taking is sympathetic or even loyal to their kidnapper."

"All I know, that cynical smirk she gave kinda creeped me." Confesses the Aerialbot Slingshot. "It's like I've seen that face before."

"Mind you guys." Adds Silverbolt. "She has been a hostage of the Decepticons for some days. That'll screw anybodies marbles. Who knows what sadistic things they did to her."

"True enough."Affirms Hot Rod.

Nearing the set of doors to the highest tower, the group splits up with Hot Rod heading to the mess hall and the Aerialbots to the residential zone. It has been quite the night, and Lita's recent behavior has Hot Rod somewhat concerned. Stopping, he looks up at the tower next to him and ponders if Optimus Prime is awake or at least inside somewhere. Entering the building he makes his way to the briefing room, primary communications area and the roof, where Optimus is known to be when he wants to be with his own thoughts.

With luck on his side this time, Prime is in the primary comm room. Seeing that the big red machine is busy conversing with someone else, Hot Rod decides to wait. A moment later Optimus closes the holoscreen and looks over to the young bot.

"What is it Hot Rod?" Asks the Autobot master.

Steeping close to to his commander, the sports car informs Prime of his concern for a certain guest.

"It's about Lita." Confesses Rod. "The Aerialbots and I notice that she's getting kinda...b-tchy."

Optimus getting a questioning look on his face, asks his compatriot to elaborate. "B-tchy?"

"Yeah. Me and the Aerialbots were having a comical conversation about taking down the 'Con flyboys. I guess Lita took offense and defended the Decepticons, especially her kidnapper, Starscream. Skydive guesses she has something called Stockholm Syndrome."

"I've heard of that type of Syndrome. It is quite possible she does have it. After all we don't know what horrible things the Decepticons did to her." Agrees Prime. "Also, her friends have been contacting us by email asking about her. They say they haven't heard from her since she got kidnapped." Analyses the Autobot leader. "I'll have a talk with her when I have time."

"Prime. The shuttle carrying Ironhide's team and their prize is arriving."Interrupts Jazz.

Nodding approval to his Spec Ops commander, Prime makes his way to the landing area with Hot Rod in tow. Reaching their destination, both bots stand aside as the shuttle lands. The craft's engines hums to a stop as the ramp lowers, and the shuttle's occupants begin to exit with team leader Ironhide along with his mate Chromia being the first.

Following the first two comes the twin Lambos; Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. A sound of commotion emits from the shuttle as Springer, accompanied by Arcee, has the struggling Decepticon in his grasp. Optimus Prime, putting his hands on his hips, stares down the captured 'Con, who continues to resist, but can't break Springer's firm grip.

Getting closer, the Decepticon femme looks up at the large bot who glares right at her. Recognizing the mech as the Autobot master Optimus Prime, a state of panic flushes over her systems.

"No! Hell no! No way!" Yells out the panicking femme. "Let me go! Let me go!"

The horrified femme now fights her captures grasp with all her might, and kicks wildly. The sight takes the Autobots by surprise, and Springer begins to lose his brace on her as the 'Con's struggle becomes more determined and violent. Feeling the constraint loosen, the femme breaks free, quickly snatches a grenade from Springer, and takes hold of the Autobot femme.

The bots raise their weapons and take aim at the Decepticon, but making sure not to make any more sudden moves that would cause the hostage taker to use the grenade. Prime takes a step forward but stops as he notices the panic on the femme's face.

"Stay away from me!" Demands the hostage taker. "Don't come any closer!"

Raising a hand, Prime tries to calm the situation. "Calm down." He says with a soft voice. "I won't hurt you."

"Bullsh-t!" Retorts the excited femme. "I want outta here! Now!"

"No. You're not going anywhere." Sternly replies the big red machine. "Release your hostage now!"

Looking around the landing area. Prime notices others have come and have the landing area completely surrounded. "The area is surrounded, you have no help, and no weapons. Give up."

Turning around and scanning the area, she sees the area full of enemies, all pointing weapons at her. Her optics begin to flood with liquid as the reality of her situation starts to sink in. Autobots shout at her to surrender, release the hostage Arcee and ensuring that she has no hope of escape, fill her audio receptors. _No hope. _The Decepticon thinks to herself.

"You don't have a chance. Just let me go."Conveys a soft spoken Arcee.

Her panic begins to subside as reality fully sinks in. With the pink coloured liquid running down the face from her optics, the Decepticon pushes her hostage away, and slams the plasma grenade to her chest.

"No don't!" Yells out the Autobot master.

The Autobots dive for cover as the grenade explodes. The impact vibrates throughout the area and sends pieces of debris and plasma in all directions. Getting back to their feet and walking about, the bots look around at the this un-expected turn of events.

"Holy crap." Comes the comment from a stunned Hot Rod.

Running to his mate, Springer gently lifts Arcee to her feet, and runs a hand across the body to see if any damage was suffered. Exhaling a sigh of relief, he and the femme walk toward Prime.

"Decepticons, damn nut cases." Says Springer while helping Arcee

"Why did she do that?" Questions Optimus.

Steeping forward, the tough, veteran Ironhide adds his own words. "Who cares. These Decepticons are just a load of nut jobs. Hell, she did us a favour by doing herself in, it's one less 'Con we have to face down."

Turning to his old friend. Prime voices his disapproval. "How can you say something like that ?"

"It's a Decepticon, and THAT'S reason enough." Comes Ironhide's stern reply.

"No it isn't." Conveys the Autobot commander with a serious tone in his voice.

* * *

High above the warzone of the Persian Gulf, an American E-3 Sentry surveys the surrounding airspace for enemy and allied aircraft. One of the operators aboard, spots a contact on the edge of his screen, moving along the Iranian coast. Looking at his data, the operator calls up the nearest allied planes; a pair of F-22 Raptors.

"Sentry-1 to Raptor Flight-3. Contact spotted along Iranian coast, heading south. Investigate, you are weapons free if contact is enemy."

Sending a confirmation signal to the E-3, the pair of Raptors ignite their afterburners and head to the assigned target. Approaching the contact, the U.S. jets confirm the target.

"Sentry-1, contact is enemy F-14 Tomcat. No others detected on radar. We are engaging." Reports the first Raptor pilot.

Warning lights glow in both F-22 cockpits as their target suddenly turns sharply, and flys toward them at high speed.

"It's tracking us on radar!" Bellows the lead F-22 pilot.

Passing between both American fighters, the F-14 again turns hard and gets on the tail of both jets. Splitting up, the Raptors force the lone Tomcat to choose which to follow. Choosing the wingmate, the F-14 stays on its tail as the prey tries to make evasive maneuvers. Unable to be shaken off, the F-14 fires a pair of missiles causing numerous lights to glow and various alarms ring out in the cockpit.

"Missiles! Missiles!" Cries out the F-22 flyer. "They're locked! Unable to jam!"

Popping flares and making a high speed loop, the pilot tries to break the missiles lock, but to no avail. The missiles strike the F-22, turning it into a fiery streak across the sky.

"Raptor 2 down! Raptor 2 down!" Yells out the lead pilot.

Getting on the F-14's tail, the American speeds up to close the range, and locks on. The enemy jet suddenly turns abruptly with the Raptor pilot quickly following it. The pilot looks on as the enemy fighter is pulls a much tighter turn than him, and soon loses sight of his target.

"This can't be happening. This is impossible." He says with disbelief.

Jerking itself to make the turn sharper, the F-14 gets on the F-22's tail and launches two missiles. Alarms and warning lights blare inside the cockpit, the pilot fires off flares and quickly turns in the opposite direction. With sweat coming down his face, the American closes his eyes and thinks of those he will leave behind. Suffering the same fate as his companion, the lead F-22 Raptor explodes into a fireball, plummeting to the earth.

On board the E-3 Sentry aircraft, the operator, along with his senior officers standing over his shoulder, stare in awe at the screen, and see the enemy contact resume its southern heading along the Iranian coast, as if nothing has happened.

* * *

Inside the briefing room of the Decepticon base, the ever cold and calculating Shockwave looks over the newest pair of arrivals; the mercenaries Barricade and Blackout. Once hired, the quickness of their arrival to earth was of up-most importance, something that Shockwave made very clear to them, and which may have annoyed the two bots. However, the prospect of working for the Decepticons again is very appealing, as they pay alot more than the Autobots or most other _contractors._

"It is agreed then. Payments for your services will be sent to your usual accounts. If you require repairs, then you are to contact me, and I will send a shuttle or other transport to pick you up." Explains the operations commander, and continues. "Just remember. I pay you. You...work for me."

With a nod from both mercs, Shockwave returns to his own business of analyzing and calculating as the pair of mercenaries examine the instructions of their first mission; an extraction. Walking toward the main hangar bay, the pair converse over the final details of their, soon to be, first outing on this strange new world. Upon entering the docking tower and both agree that getting their earth alt modes is first priority.

* * *

The following evening, the Autobots' human guest sits in her room, chatting away on her cellphone and typing away on her laptop. After sometime, she finishes up her conversation and hangs up her phone, and turns off the laptop. Laying back down on the bed, she closes her eyes and thinks to herself. _Time to go. _Getting back up, she packs belongings in the backpack, and exits her room. Upon exiting, she comes across the Autobot Wheelie, which greets her with childlike glee.

Atop of one of the tallest towers in the city, the Autobot communications officer, Blaster monitors the various communiques along with his company of cassettes. A holoscreen pops up, blinking a warning amber. Catching his curiosity, Blaster clicks it and reads the details. Grasping his chin, the mech leans closer to the screen, he scrutinizes the data more closely, and soon leans back in his chair with a look of concern.

"Optimus Prime, this is Blaster." Calls the Autobot boombox.

"What is it Blaster?" Comes the reply.

"Could you come to the communications center? We need to talk." Asks Blaster with concern in his voice.

After a moment of silence he gets his response. "Alright, on my way."

Some minutes later, the big red machine enters the comm center and goes to Blaster's side.

"What do you have Blaster?"

"Something you're not gonna like big boss." He says, then points to a newly opened holoscreen. "A couple of outgoing communiques caught the security system's attention. I scanned and analized both signals, and found something very disturbing. Both communiques were on a Decepticon frequency and bandwidth."

"Decepticon communications? From Autobot City?" Optimus says with surprise in his tone.

"Yes Prime. I was able to track down the signals' origins; a cellphone, and a laptop. From a certain guest's room." Explains Blaster.

"Lita." Confirms Prime with some disbelief in his tone.


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they are the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good Reading.**

Quick stepping away from the camp fire and her friends, the noise of an approaching helicopter and then a sudden crash caught her full attention. Stopping at the edge of the camp site, she stares at the treeline in the distance and sees thick smoke rising from the apparent crash sight, deep into the pine forest. With the clear night sky, a person can see for kilometres in any direction, and with the full moon out, the everything can be seen quite clearly.

"Hey honey!" Calls out a male voice. "Why did you run here? You startled everybody."

"Sweety, I heard a helicopter sound then a loud crash." She explains to her lover. "I think it crashed over there. Where the smoke is coming from."

"I never heard anything like that. Neither did anybody..." Says the man but gets suddenly cut off.

"THERE!" The woman yells out pointing at the dispersing smoke.

Emerging from the smoke and scattering it, a helicopter rises and flies toward the two campers whom just stare as the large chopper passes them.

"Honey, you're in the Air Force. What kind of helicopter is that?" Asks the female looking at her hubby.

"Its...a MH-53 Pave Low." He answers.

Looking up at the massive object passing, the woman glares at it and suddenly gets a creepy felling, which sends a cold chill down her back.

* * *

Driving down the highway, a middle aged couple enjoy their night cruise. The clear sky, and the brightness of the moon lights up the various sights that dot the large flat road. Driving along, the man notices a particular vehicle coming in the opposite direction, it's a brand new Saleen Mustang, a police retrofitted one by the look of the black and white colour scheme. Glancing back, he notices the car's brake lights come on and turns around. Speeding up, the police car activates its flashers and lights.

"Ahh, great." He says with a disappointing tone.

"What did you do honey? Are you speeding?" Asks his wife.

"No, I'm not speeding or anything. Probably some young rookie acting all high and mighty." The man explains.

Slowing down, the couple looks back. The police interceptor abruptly flips over, end over end, and explodes violently.

"Oh my god!" Bellows the man as he slams the brakes of his car.

"What was that!?" Questions the wide eyed woman.

Popping from behind the flames, smoke and debris, a vehicle slowly passes the worried couple in their car. The man looks at the car and can't believe what he sees; the exact same Mustang police interceptor. Reading the phrase on the rear fender gives him an uncomfortable feeling; _To Punish, and Enslave._

* * *

Walking across the bridge to the gate on the other side, the human and her Autobot companion get ready to say their final farewells. The wind has died down enough for the girl to drop the hood of her jacket. She smiles slightly at her mechanized colleague.

"Well, Wheelie. Looks like it's time for me to...go home." Says the bundled up girl.

"I don't want you to go. Stay with us, you're safe here. No Decepticons come to take you away." Replies the childish Autobot.

"I know, but I gotta go sometime. I have a life to get back to."

"Will you remember me and the rest of us?"

"Of course I will. You've been so helpful since I got back here. Especially taking me to the off limits areas, and letting me take pictures of those place too."

"You were curious, and Optimus Prime trusts you." The child like bot replies.

The female smiles at the bot, and hands him the backpack which he takes, with a little puzzling look on his face. The sound of various running bots, makes the pair turn around. Wheelie looks on and recognizes the group; Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Hot Rod, and Optimus Prime leading. They seem to be in quite the hurry, some even have weapons in hand.

"Wheelie! Get away from her!" Orders Prime on the run.

The childish bot cocks his head to one side, wondering why Optimus would say such a thing. He stares back to the girl, only to see her run off toward the gate. Now this compounds Wheelie even more, and decides to run after her. Reaching the gate, the girl jumps over the railing into the pine trees that cover the cliff's edge.

The gang of Autobots, quickly gaining on her, leap over the gate that spans across the bridge entrance. Running along the road, they keep a sensor lock on the human as it dodges around the pine trees. Emerging onto the road, the female sprints and suddenly comes to an immediate halt in which she loses her balance. Landing right in front of her, is an angry looking Optimus Prime.

"You're not going anywhere little one. Not after what you did." Comes the stern and cold tone from the Autobot master.

"Screw it Prime! Just kill the insect!" Adds the visibly angered Ironhide.

"Wait Prime! Don't hurt her!" Interrupts Wheelie as he slides between the human and the big red machine.

"Wheelie out of the way! Now!" Bellows Optimus.

Using the moment of confusion, the human bolts toward Prime and slides right underneath him. Quickly getting back up, she runs at full speed once again.

"Dammit Wheelie we had her!" Bursts Jazz, beginning to lose his usual cool.

"But why are all of you trying to hurt Lita?" Asks the child bot in a panicky voice.

"The f-cking b-tch turned traitor!" Answers Ironhide with much hostility.

"I'll get her." Claims Hot Rod and taunts the girl as he looks at her running away. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"

Stopping dead in her tracks, she turns around, gives a cynical smirk and answers. "WANNA BET!"

_Holy crap, I KNOW that look. _Hot Rod thinks to himself. Reaching into her coat pocket she pulls out a pen like device and clicks the top. The backpack, still firmly in Wheelie's hand explodes into an EMP pulse, its shinning blue light briefly covers the Autobots. Seconds after, the human strolls to the downed mechs, most of which are offline. She comes across a semi conscious Prime and looks at his disoriented expression.

"Wh...why?" Queries a very weakened Optimus.

"There's more than meets the eye, Prime." She replies with a little screech in her voice, and the same smirk.

Looking over to the downed Hot Rod, the human treads to him and looks him right in the optics.

"Kicked your ass...again." The human declares with a smile.

Hearing an engine approach, the girl turns about an walks away as the car flashes its police beacons and gives a quick burp of the siren. Coming to a halt and revving the engine, the passenger door of the police Mustang opens, and the female sits inside. Swinging the rear end about, Barricade quickly accelerates and leaves the area before any Autobot re-enforcements arrive.

Looking on ,struggling to stay conscious, Optimus Prime ponders how this all happened. What did he do to deserve this? Before slipping into a system wide shut down, he promises himself to find out why.

After driving for almost an hour, the Mustang comes to an isolated clearing with a large helicopter waiting. Stopping several meters away, the car lets out its precious cargo which makes way to the awaiting chopper. Once the human enters, Blackout takes off and flies to his destination.

* * *

"I can't believe you've been keeping this from me brother. I thought no secrets between us." Says Skywarp in disbelief while walking with his older brother.

"I didn't tell anybody, Skywarp. I promised Starscream before he left on his mission." Replies Thundercracker.

"So you and 'Screamer are back on speaking terms? In any case, why didn't you tell ME you had it all this time?" Continues the youngest sibling.

Reaching Thundercreacker's quarters, both Seekers enter, with TC sitting at his computer terminal and Skywarp standing by his brother's side still pestering him with questions.

TC exhales a long breath, and gives in to the prankster's annoyance. "Alright. I didn't tell you because if I did, you won't stop rummaging through my private space to find it, and once you DID find the creature, you would torment the poor thing for your amusement, and probably kill it in the process. That's...why I didn't tell you."

"Ah come on bro." Pleads the black/purple Seeker. "These humans are just so fun to play with. The noises they make, the way their bodies flap in the air, and the sound of the splat, if its done right, is just so comical. How can someone not find amusement in that?"

"I...don't find amusement in that." Retorts TC.

"I know, I know. You don't like to make or see things suffer and whatnot. You've always been that way, especially after your own torment at an Autobot pris.." Skywarp says, but quickly cuts himself off once he realises what is about to be said. "I'm sorry bro, I didn't mean to...bring it up."

Lowering his head and closing his optics, TC tenses slightly after his brother's words bring back some very uncomfortable memories. Relaxing his posture and opening his optics again, he continues to type away on his computer and responds to the apology. "It's OK bro. Don't worry about it."

TC gets up and strolls to his recharge bed, pushing a button on the base of it, a compartment opens up. Reaching inside, he carefully pulls out a glass like capsule, and shows it to Skywarp. The youngest of the siblings looks at it with intrigue, seeing a form inside of the capsule as 'Warp takes a closer look.

"To answer your earlier question. No, me and Starscream aren't on speaking terms. I just found the capsule in front of my door with a note attached. He's still an arrogant and opportunistic sh-thead, but he isn't dumb. He knows I'm angst about tormenting humans, and because of that she'd be safe in my care. So I watch over the femme until he gets back from his mission."

"Femme?" Queries the ever intrigued sibling. "What do you mean femme?"

TC wipes clean the glass surface and puts the capsule in his brother's hands, trusting that he won't teleport away. Closely looking at the capsule, Skywarp can easily make out the form inside. It's the human that Starscream brought back a week ago, but laying perfectly still in suspended animation, with the various instruments inside and outside the capsule keeping it regulated.

"What was the creature's name again?" Asks the intrigued Seeker.

"Lita."

* * *

Laying on a recharge bed, Optimus Prime's systems slowly comeback online. Carefully, he sits up and gently grabs his head with both hands, his processors still feeling the effects of the EMP blast suffered just a few hours ago. Seeing a blurred object approach, he carefully swings his legs off the bed and tries to stand. The venture doesn't go quite well as he loses his balance, but is caught before hitting the floor.

"Careful Prime. Your systems aren't ready for normal operations just yet." Says the mysterious mech.

"Ratchet. How did I get...here?" Asks the disoriented Prime.

"Blaster was monitoring your communications, and contacted others once you all went offline at the same time. That EMP blast was a fierce one." Explains the Autobot surgeon.

"What of the others?" Optimus weakly queries.

"They'll be fine. Wheelie though, was at the center of it so it'll take him more time to recover. You need to stay a while longer though, your systems still haven't reset themselves to their previous settings." Ratchet gives his diagnosis.

"Thanks Ratchet. Don't worry, I won't go anywhere." Replies the disoriented mech.

"One more thing Prime. Its...about the shuttle that's carrying the parts for Elita." Addresses Ratchet.

Prime lowers his head, and thinks the worst of the coming news. With the such large amount of bad times he has had, Prime can pretty much call what the news will be. He braces himself for the devastating blow that is about to come.

"It just arrived several minutes ago. Perceptor and Wheeljack are going over and cataloguing the parts right now. Once they're done, we'll start the repairs." Announces the reassuring mech.

Grasping the edges of the recharge bed, the Autobot master closes his optics lets out a long breath. For once, he gets much welcome news, and is almost speechless.

"Thank you Ratchet. Thank you....very much."

* * *

Exiting the docking tower in the main hangar bay, the mercenary Blackout strolls down the ramp, with the human female perched on his shoulder, and comes face to face with his contractor Shockwave. The Decepticon operations commander raises his hand to the helicopter's shoulder with the femme carefully stepping on it, and brings her closer to his mono eyed visage.

"Were you discovered at all?" Asks the imposing purple mech.

"At the end, it is possible, but it no longer matters." She replies with a smile.

"Very well done Starscream." Congratulates the expressionless Decepticon.

"A pleasure." Comes the screechy answer accompanied by the signature cynical smirk.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Looking over the various holoscreens before him, Megatron takes in all the details of the latest communiques and updated information, and he doesn't really like what he sees.

The Decepticon naval commander; Tidal Wave reports of Autobot stealth ships attempting to slip into the naval yards. Several have been destroyed, however, it is unknown if any have successfully done so.

The Autobots have been trying to capture Decepticon troops, odds are to interrogate them to find out what Megatron is up too. One has been captured by the Autobots here on earth, but tragically the 'Con took her own life before they could question her. A solemn reminder to what is at stake.

And finally, the war he so orchestrated in the Middle East isn't going so well. The American and British ground forces in Iraq have defeated the Iranian ground offensive just beyond the Iraqi cities of Al Basrah, Baghdad, and Tirkit. Just south of Al Basrah, British armoured formations have launched successful counter-attacks and pushed Iranian forces there back across the border.

After considering these new developments, Megatron decides that the Middle East war takes priority. He opens another holoscreen, and presses a few holographic keys. Appearing is the image of his Operations Commander.

"Shockwave, what do you have of the data that Starscream obtained at Autobot City?"

The mono eyed Decepticon remains silent for a few moments, then answers. "I have everything I need Lord Megatron. The map of Autobot City is complete."

With a grin on his face, Megatron welcomes this little bit of news. "Excellent. I have analysed the data sent to me, and I have decided that the Middle East war takes top priority right now. If we don't do something soon, the war will be over in just under two weeks, with a Western Allied victory. The war must last the minimum one month we require."

"Very well Lord Megatron. What do you require we do to intervene?" Asks Shockwave.

"Which ever Seekers have these aircraft as their alt modes.." Megatron pauses to send Shockwave the specified list. "...are to report to me for combat duty. Also, the American units that are stationed along the border with Mexico, ARE NOT to leave American soil. No other American ground forces are to be sent to the current war-zone."

"Very well. What else do you require of me my Lord?"

"That is all for now." Ends the silver mech, closing the screen.

He takes a deep breath and closes his optics. Remaining in deep thought for a minute, the Decepticon commander decides his next move on the world stage. Opening up yet another holoscreen, he calls up the his master dealer, and profiteer; Swindle.

* * *

Hearing the door chim, Thundercracker, sitting at his computer console, lets the guest inside. Ending his typing momentarily, he turns about expecting to see Skywarp, but instead stares at his so called _dear brother _Starscream. With an awkward silence filling TC's quarters, the atmosphere quickly starts to become uncomfortable.

Knowing what his brother is here for, the blue Seeker walks to his recharge bed and opens the compartment. Starscream picks up the capsule, examining it and making sure the femme is still inside, he exits, but stops at his brother's words.

"I didn't tamper with anything, and I never told anyone about her. Relax." Explains TC.

Just inside the doorway, the red Seeker turns around and faces his former wingmate. Glancing around his quarters, Starscream decides to break his silence.

"You know, Thundercracker." Says the screechy voices Seeker. "Once this new strategy is all said and done. I will have my showdown with Megatron...and I will prove to all of you, that HE isn't invincible."

Giving a long deep exhale, TC still can't believe that his younger brother won't give it up. "Starscream. How many times have we been over this? YOU...won't, can't defeat Megatron. You've tried so many times and all have ended in failure, resulting in your body and mind's partial dismantlement at his hands."

"My mind is just fine. And I WILL, kill Megatron in the end. He will pay for everything he has ever done to me!"

"So captain Ahab has to hunt his whale." Quotes TC from one of earth's greatest English literatures.

"This is not about revenge!" Bellows the red jet. "It's about making things right!"

"Making things right?" Questions the elder brother with a tone of doubt. "Right for whom Starscream? You? Me? Skywarp? The other Decepticons?" He continues with a more serious voice. "Look. Enough of this Starscream! You can't defeat Megatron! Nobody will follow you as leader! No nobody here respects you! And apart from me and Skywarp, nobody cares if you live or die!"

The coming silence that followed Thundercracker's reality check fills the room. For some moments, nothing is said, barely even a breath is heard. Starscream glances back and forth, looking for a counterpoint to his brother's rant.

"Starscream...." TC says with a much more relaxed voice, but gets cut off.

"What he has done to me was monstrous." Interrupts the screechy voiced Seeker.

Thundercracker rebuttals. "And what the Autobots have done to me was monstrous as well, but the difference is, I don't let my anger for it consume me. I won't let the Autobots turn me into a monster, like Megatron is doing to you."

Looking at his elder brother, Starscream turns and exits the room. "I am not a monster."

Taking a long breath, he sits on the recharge bed and gently grabs one of his wings, rubbing it. Checking his internal chronometer, and data banks, TC notices that he has some free time and decides to take a quick shut down.

* * *

Slowly, the darkness comes to light. Concentrating on a point of light, Lita begins to wonder where she is, but with her mind quite disoriented, and her vision a complete blur, it's impossible know. A large shadowy figure steps in front of the light, and two wide, flat objects spread out from what seems to be behind the figure's back. _Wings? An angel? _Lita ponders in her disoriented state. _Am I...dead?_ She continues to think. She lazily raises an arm and reaches out to the shadow.

Standing before the medical bed and overlooking the human. Starscream cocks his head to one side, puzzled by this odd behavior being displayed. _Why is she reaching to me? _He thinks to himself.

* * *

Laying on the recharge bed in his quarters, Optimus Prime slumbers in a deep shut down, with only his audio receptors, and nerve sensors online, although on their lowest settings. The Autobot master has been staying online almost at all times ever since Elita-One was brought back from the disastrous mission in Darfur. He never left her side except for getting an energon cube for consumption, which was few and far between, and attending to urgent Autobot business, which he relegated much of it to his second in command, Jazz.

His nerve sensors pick up a slight feeling, but it quickly goes away. The feelings begin to turn up slowly again, so his systems increases the settings of both audio and nerve sensors. Steadily, the feelings of touch become more concentrated and consistent. Reluctantly, Prime's body begins to power up. His processors make a quick check of his energy levels, which are still very low, thus a complete power up to all systems is out of the question.

Prime's optics lazily activate, and sees that the lights are on, but the clarity is fuzzy as they aren't at full power and aren't calibrated. A shadow appears in front of his vision, and looks like it's gently rubbing his hand. A voice is heard, but the speech makes no sense, therefore Prime turns up his audios and calibrates them.

"Everything is well my love. Get your rest." Says the mysterious voice from the shadow.

Recognizing the voice, he moves his head toward the shadow, and reaches out for it. Calibrating his optics, the shadowy figure becomes more detailed. It's a slender looking bot, femme like, pink coloured, and its optics glow a bright blue.

"Elita?" Asks the weak voiced Prime.

"Here's a hint." The femme voice responds, then leans over and kisses Optimus' faceplate.

In reflex, his systems activate and the Autobot master comes to his senses. Looking over the pink coloured femme sitting next to him, he gently caresses her cheek, making sure it's not a dream.

"You're not dreaming my love." Says the soft speaking femme. "It's me, Elita-One."

Prime quickly wraps both arms around Elita, and locks them in place, not wanting to let her go. His optics filling with pink liquid, Prime places his forehead against Elita's and keeps her in his loving embrace.

"I love you." Confesses a shaky voiced Optimus. "Oh Primus, I love you so much."

* * *

Inside of a big, well decorated room, Mr. Simmons, with a large companion sitting next to him, converse with a trio of men across the table. The meeting has been called by the trio, because ever since war exploded in the Middle East, the supply of oil and natural gas has been cut off from that part of the world. Many countries have turned to Russia, a much more stable and secure supplier, for their energy needs. However, even with the recent retrofits on several oil and natural gas refineries, the Russian facilities just can't handle the sudden surge in demand.

Sitting across from Mr. Simmons, and his large companion, is secretary Valchenko and two very high profile members of Russian politics; President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. The Russian trio occasionally glance over at the large man, whom is an imposing seven feet tall, his hair grey in a flattop buzzcut, a massive frame and distinctly broad shoulders. Despite the formal wear that everybody else is sporting, he is dressed in a black overcoat, with a high quality white shirt underneath, black pants, and what looks like combat boots. Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb, but no one in the room has dared to voice it.

"With the experience and lessons from retrofitting your earlier facilities, our company has been able to significantly reduce retrofit time and cost. Therefore, we will be able to upgrade more facilities on the same budget." Explains Mr. Simmons looking at Valchenko.

"What of exploring and exploiting resources in the harsh environment of Siberia, especially during the winter months?" Asks secretary Valchenko.

"Our equipment has been designed and built for all types of climates and terrain. Also, our workers have specific winter gear that can easily deal with your winter climate, not an issue for us. The advanced sensors we have can scan large areas and pinpoint exactly where the hidden resources are and how large the deposit is. All without the need for expensive and time consuming test drilling." Retorts the business man.

Looking at the large, buzzcut man, Prime Minister Putin asks. "Mr. Lauren Magnus, why haven't we heard of this company of yours before? With such advanced equipment and skill, why are you still in abscurity?"

The large man looks at the Prime Minister and replies with a soft, calm-mannered voice. "We have been always a small time company with only low end projects. However, with the ever increased demand in energy, I have decided to concentrate our efforts and resources to that field. I have spent alot of capital and time to hire the very best team. Our previous dealing was actually our first ever big contract, now I want to prove that we can do the same and more."

Mr. Simmons adds. "This would require the full attention of our company, with no time for other contracts. We would be working exclusively for your country, nobody else."

The trio of politicians talk amongst themselves in their native tongue, and soon turn back to the duo. Sometime later, Mr. Simmons and Magnus walk about the lobby, happy with the great success of their new contract with the Russians. It specifies that their company, Cybertroil, will retrofit ALL Russian oil, natural gas, and petrol facilities, and will also explore and exploit new energy resources in the Siberian territory. Looking at his cellphone, Mr. Simmons views a newly arrived text message. After a few seconds, he glances over at Lauren Magnus as they exit the building.

"Your interests in Mexico has gone without a hitch. Ole' one eye said his associates did very well there, no suspiscions from the news agencies." Explains Swindle.

Glaring at a large screen just next to the building's marble steps, the high definition graphics suddenly change to an urgent news report from CNN.

"Greetings. We have just received a couple of very...intense reports from the U.S./ Mexico border. These reports come straight from our crews in that region. It appears that a United States Air Force helicopter, an MH-53 Pave Low, shown here..."An image of such a helicopter comes up on the screen for a few seconds. "has attacked with rockets and gunfire on what is perceived to be a large group of drug cartel people trying to cross the border into the U.S. Tragically, the victims of this attack weren't cartel smugglers, but undocumented immigrants trying to enter the country."

He pauses for a moment and goes onto the next report. "The second report comes from Monterry, Mexico, where as you know is where the directors of Homeland Security and the NSA were assassinated. A pair of USAF F-15 Eagles have bombed the city's airport, destroying many aircraft there, and killing almost a hundred people. Once again, our crews were there and caught the attack as it happened. Pentagon sources have denied that any U.S. forces have entered Mexican territory, even though we can clearly see the USAF markings on the helicopter and the F-15s...." The reporter stops as his attention is called off camera for a moment.

"I've just been told that the Mexican government has greatly condemned the attacks on its sovereign territory, and orders the immediate halt of all its oil shipments to the U.S., further compounding the oil crisis here. We will keep you updated as events unfold." The news anchor ends.

Stopping next to his taller associate Swindle, asks. "Good news Lauren Magnus...sorry, I mean, Lord Megatron?"

"Very good news, Swindle." Responds the human bodied Decepticon master.

* * *

Hearing a vehicle approach, an Autobot foursome comprised of Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Kup, and Cliffjumper, get into there positions in front and around one of the bridge gates to Autobot City. The vehicle, a white/blue coloured 2005 Maserati MC12, comes to view and stops several meters from the gate. Kup approaches the vehicle as the occupants exit, and scans them both. Two females, in their early twenties; the driver, short hair, and blue eyes. The passenger; a little taller, long black hair and dark coloured eyes.

"State your business please ladies." Commands the veteran bot.

"I'm Raye." Says the passenger. "And this is Amy."

"We're friends of Lita." Adds Amy.

At the mention of their friendship with the traitor, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Cliffjumper point their blasters at the humans, while Kup stares down the girls whom enter a state of shock.

"Is that so." Kup says with coldness in his voice.


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good Reading.**

Surrounded by a group of large Autobots, Amy and Raye finish explaining their reason for coming to Autobot City, however, the mention of their missing friend Lita struck a very sensitive cord with the machines. Looking at the largest of the machines, the one called Optimus Prime, a discomforting feeling comes over the girls. Ever got the feeling you`re just not welcome?

"Lita was here for a week? How could that be? When did her kidnappers release her?" Inquires Amy with concern.

Prime remains silent for a moment, contemplating the girl's questions. "She never contacted you? Lita had her laptop and cellphone while she was here."

"No she never replied to any of our emails or voice mails." Replies Amy. "Seeing that Lita was here, I thought to contact you guys."

"It's not like her to just ignore her friends Optimus." Adds black haired girl; Raye. "We're really worried about her, that's all."

"She's right my love." Agrees the newly revived Elita-One. " Lita and I spent alot of time together while she was here. This isn't her type of behaviour."

Crossing his arms and lowering his head, Prime ponders what is said to him. He knows that both have a point, and it isn't in Lita's character to act as such. Something just doesn't seem right about it.

"I agree with you all. I want to find her as much as any of you, but I just can't ignore the fact that she sided with the Decepticons and betrayed us outright." Confesses the Autobot master.

Amy steps forward, upset at the words chosen by Prime. "Lita isn't a backstabber, nor would she EVER side with the Decepticons. She always spoke highly of all of you."

"Yeah sure." Taunts Hot Rod. "Your tall friend thought so highly of us that she blew up an EMP bomb to show her gratitude."

"That's enough Hot Rod!" Intejects Prime.

"Oh come on Prime." Retorts an obviously annoyed Hot Rod. "Are you actually believing this bullsh-t?"

"How could you say that!?" Bellows Raye. "You're not one of her friends, you don't know who she is!"

"I, and many others here know all that there is to know of your so called dear friend!" Angrily retorts the hotheaded mech. "A two faced, decepticon WHORE!"

"I said that's ENOUGH!" Yells out the big red machine at his vindictive voiced colleague. "Get out of my sight Hot Rod!"

"You're siding with the insects now Prime!?"

"GET LOST! NOW!" Orders Optimus with hatred clearly visible in his visage.

"Fine...whatever." Concedes Hot Rod as he turns about and leaves the large room.

A digital sounding ring emits from Ami's coat. The short haired girl grabs the cellphone and steps a few feet away.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. Rest assure, many still think of Lita in good spirit." Prime apologetically says to a very annoyed Raye.

"Lita!" Shouts the anxious sounding Ami. "Where are you!?" She becomes silent for several seconds, listening. "He let you go!? Who's he?" For a few moments more, she says nothing, just keenly listens. "Stay there! Raye and I are on the way!"

"Where is she?" Anxiously asks Elita-One.

"Lita was released at Manchester, it's northwest of here, on I-24." Explains Amy as she closes her cellphone and puts back in her coat pocket.

"Who brought her back?" Inquires Optimus with a tone of concern.

"Someone named, Star...scream." Answers Amy.

Just outside the room where the bots and the girls are conversing, the angered Hot Rod curiously eavesdrops on this new development. He gets a cynical smile as an idea comes to him, clicking his internal comm system, Hot Rod calls up a colleague.

"Springer, this is Hot Rod." Announces the red mech.

"Hot Rod? Hey man, what's this I hear about you calling my Wreckers as YOUR team? I know I let you in command of them while I and Sandstorm went to Trall to relieve the injured Arcee and Moonracer..." Queries the Autobot triple-changer but gets cut off by Hot Rod's insistence.

"Yeah, Yeah, I got carried away for a while, look just listen." Quickly interrupts the young mech. "You still want payback for what that insect did?"

"You know damn well I do. That turncoat made idiots out of all of us."

"Well dude. Christmas just came early." Replies the cynical looking bot.

* * *

Amy and Raye return to their car with Optimus Prime and his love Elita-One in tow. As the girls prepare to leave, a sudden running noise catches their and the pair of bots' attention. Turning around, Prime sees his small, but ever loyal friend, Bumblebee, and he seems to be in quite the hurry.

"PRIME!" Yells our the yellow mech.

"What is it Bumblebee?" Comes his response.

The bot stops near his master and commander, a look of worry clearly visible on the VW's face. "We have trouble, big time." He pauses so his systems can slow down. "I was out in the main hangar bay making an inventory list, when the Wreckers and Hot Rod came by."

"Why were they in the main hangar bay?" Asks Elita-One.

"They were talking about taking a shuttle and going to Manchester. Hot Rod specifically mentioned that the 'Cons released Lita there and she's waiting to be picked up by her friends."

"How the hell did they know of that!?" Angrily replies the big red machine.

"I don't think it matters now boss bot." Retorts Bumblebee. "The Wreckers and Rod were in an awful hurry, and fully loaded with their combat gear. They spoke of making her pay for what she's done to you and the Autobots. They even shared a laugh together about how...fun it'll be."

"Prime, they're gonna kill her!" Bellows the pink coloured femme bot.

"DAMMIT!" Yells out Optimus, full of antagonism. "Alright...this what what we're gonna do." He decides and explains. "Bumblebee, I want you to get these Autobots to the hangar bay." Prime hands over the yellow mech a datapad with a list of specific names. "Elita, you're with me. Amy, Raye, get in your car and follow me to the hangar bay."

With their current instructions, the bots and the humans get on their way. Hoping that the apparent rescue mission won't become a body retrieval by the time they get there.

* * *

Hearing a set of engines overhead, Lita sees a shuttle with the Autobot symbol clearly visible, landing next to the nearby treeline. Soon after, one exits the rear ramp and stroles to the curiously awaiting girl. The red mech puts her on his shoulder and wanders into the forest.

Being set on the ground, Lita looks around and wonders why the Autobot brought her here. "Why did you bring me here Hot Rod? Where are Amy and Raye?"

"All in good time my dear." He responds.

Coming to a small clearing he puts down the girl and steps back to the treeline. Confusion begins to wrap around her head, trying to make sense of what is going on. The sudden sound of rustling from the trees surrounds her senses, causing discomfort to rapidly rise.

"Hot Rod...I wanna leave." She asks with a tone of worry.

One by one, the Wreckers emerge from the foliage and surround the girl. Looks of anger on their faces, weapons in hand, Springer aims his blaster at the suddenly stunned Lita. No great speech, last words, cliches, or theatrics. Just straight to the point for him.

"Time to pay the piper, insect!" Declares the Wreckers' leader.

"Hot Rod please!" She cries out.

"STAND DOWN WRECKERS!" Orders a familiar voice.

Turning around in surprise, the renegade Autobots look right into the enraged optics of Optimus Prime. The Autobot master aims his powerful rifle at the stunned Springer, his fellow team members holding still in stunned awe. Flanking the big red mech, Elita-One stands with her pair of blaster pistols aimed at Hot Rod, staring down the eavesdropper with much hatred in her optics and visage.

"I said STAND DOWN!" Again bellows the vengeful Prime.

"I still can't believe you're defending this thing!" Retorts loudly Hot Rod as he steps slowly toward the Autobot master. "She and her kind played turncoat on us many times over Prime. Just when the hell are you gonna wake up!?"

"What direction our relationship with the humans takes, is up to ME! My authority WILL NOT be countermanded or usurped just because it suites your mood!" Angrily replies the Autobot master. "Drop your weapons, put your arms behind your backs! I am placing all of you in custody for insurrection!"

The Wreckers and Hot Rod look at each other in some confusion. They out number Prime and Elita by almost four-to-one, just how is he expected to put them all under arrest? Coming out of the treeline, many shadows make their presence felt and seen, other Autobots, lots of them, surround the renegade mechs. Arcee, Moonracer, Bumblebee, Brawn, Prowl, Bluestreak, Hound, Jazz, Ratchet, Trailbreaker, Wheeljack, Huffer, Gears, Warpath, and overhead hovering the Aerialbots and Skyfire. All of which have their weapons trained on the rogue bots.

"AUTOBOTS!" Yells out Optimus, then points to the dissident mechs. "DIS-ARM THE WRECKERS!"

With the sight of so many Autobots getting closer, the mechs realising they're hopelessly outnumbered and out gunned, drop their weapons, and put their arms behind their backs. Stasis-cuffs are quickly put around their wrists which sends the assailants into a system wide shutdown. It's over.

Elita looks behind herself and waves. Both Amy and Raye run past the Autobot femme to their beleaguered friend, embracing her trembling body tightly. The trio slowly get to there feet as the majority of the Autobots leave with their captives firmly in hand.

Kneeling down, Prime looks at the frightened Lita. "You need to come with me to Autobot City. I am placing you in protective custody in the mean time. We need to talk."

* * *

Facing a wall full of holoscreens, Lord Megatron, refreshed from a long deserved recharge, hears a beeping sound in his audio receptors. A new holoscreen pops up and the image of the Seacon leader; SnapTrap comes to view.

"What do you have SnapTrap?" Inquires the Decepticon master.

"Lord Megatron. I and Seawing have detected and shadowed a British fleet entering the Persian Gulf. It comprises two carriers, with their standard compliment of cruisers, escorting destroyers, frigates, and a pair of submarines. However, two vessels may be of interest to you my Lord." Replies the Seacon in detail.

Grasping his chin with a look of curiosity, he decides to inquire further. "And what might those be SnapTrap?"

"The submarines are from the American navy my Lord. Specifically, Ohio-Class nuclear missile submarines."

Snaptrap was right, this does peak Megatron's interest. "Well done SnapTrap. Continue your work."

"Thank you my Leige." Finishes the Seacon and closes the screen.

Pacing a little, Megatron looks over the many holoscreens. He glares at the ones showing events in the Middle East. He ponders this latest news about the American submarines, and looks at a large map of the Middle East Region, continually updating in real time. His Seekers, repainted in Iranian Air Force colours and markings, are taking their toll on the Allied Air Forces, the Iranian ground forces seem to be finally holding their own against the American and British counter attacks, and the massive insurgency in Iraq is keeping much of the Allied infantry and support in the cities and towns.

Looking up the data on the American Ohio-Class submarines, he gets a cynical smirk on his visage. _Yes, they're perfect._

For all intents and purposes, Megatron is winning his battle for time.


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

**Author's Note: I'm sorry for taking a long time to update this story. A sub plot comes to an end in this chapter and it was quite difficult to come up with a way to do it. I had to re-write this chapter five times over, because nothing I wrote seemed adequate. Don't take this very late update as a sign that I'm giving up on this story or running out of ideas. This story does have an ending, and I WILL finish it, no matter how long it takes. Thanks for your time.**

Raye, Amy, and Lita continued to pace around the large metal room. They have been locked in here ever since their return to Autobot City just a few hours ago. A measure that Optimus insisted it is necessary for Lita's protection, especially considering what has transpired just hours before.

The tall brunette, her arms crossed, just kept to herself as she tried to make sense of what her friends have told her about their arrival to this city. The unfriendly welcome by the bridge sentries, the accusations of her siding with the Decepticons, her so called attack on Prime's group, and showing support for the Seeker Starscream. The girls' attention is suddenly brought to the double sliding doors as they opened. A quartet of bots entered the room, Optimus Prime, Elita-One, Perceptor, and Ratchet. The Autobot master approached the trio of femmes and knelt down, probably to make himself look less imposing.

"Bought time." Said and annoyed Raye.

"Prime. What's going on? Why have we been locked in here for hours?" Questioned Lita.

He looked at the brunette's slightly annoyed visage and decided now is the time. "I had you and your friends locked in this room for your protection."

"Protection from what?" She replied.

"...from some of my Autobots. Your behaviour and attitude ever since we brought you back from the hospital has been a concern. And then there was your....departure from here." Explained an oddly calm Optimus.

"Back from the hospital? What are you talking about? I've been held at the Decepticon base for over a week!" Shot back the distressed woman.

"That's what we're going to figure out."

"We're ready to do it Prime." Announced Ratchet.

As she sensed the girl's stress mount, Elita-One stepped forward and tried to bring some comfort. "We're going to be asking you a series of questions. It concerns your whereabouts and relationship with the Decepticons. We will be hooking you to our polygraph system here."

"Elita, I'm not lying!" The girl pleaded.

"Look, there's quite a few Autobots that have taken the actions of the past week quite hard. Some even want you dead, as you've seen with the Wreckers and Hot Rod. If you want your name cleared, this is the only way to do it." The pink femme retorted.

As she exhaled a long breath, the woman realised that there is no other way out of this. She figured that something big has happened here and it all pointed to her. The woman nodded in reluctance and sat in the machine's chair. After all the cable connections, and the necessary adjustments were made, Prime began his interrogation.

"This...is one of those times in life where you must be absolutely sure of what you say." Warned the imposing red machine. "What happened when you arrived at the Decepticon base?"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes to concentrate on the answer. "I was put on a table by Starscream when he and the one called Megatron began arguing."

Ratchet gave a nod, and Prime continued. "Did they interrogate you?"

"Yes."

"What did they question you about?" He asked after Ratchet gave another nod.

"My time here, and specific information about your city."

Prime cocked his head to the side in thought. _Specific questions about Autobot City? _He pondered to himself. "What kind of specific information?"

"The primary power source, main communications center, Metroplex, and...that's all I can remember right now." She replied with a much more relaxed tone.

As Prime asked his questions, Ratchet and Perceptor stood at the other end of the room with the polygraph machine's instruments. They monitored the girl's biological readings as she answered, but nothing out of the ordinary came up. Ratchet opened a new holoscreen and pulled up Lita's medical results from when they brought her back from the hospital. _The hell is this? _He thought to himself.

"Prime!" Called out the medical expert.

The Autobot commander walked to the surgeon's side. "What is it Ratchet?"

"I pulled up Lita's biological information from when we brought her back from the hospital, and I compared it to the bio readings I'm getting from her now. It doesn't match, Optimus."

"What do you mean her bio readings don't match?"

"The DNA, brain waves, and homeostasis is completely different. From what Perceptor and I can theorize right now, the Lita here is NOT the Lita from the previous week. Prime, I recommend that we end the interrogation until I can perform a full medical exam."

"Agreed."

* * *

Inside the main medical center, the group of bots and humans await the results of Ratchet's and Perceptor's exams. The three women stood, and talked amongst themselves, probably trying to figure out what the results will be. Prime just stared at a set of double doors at the opposite end of the room, and knew all too well what laid beyond them. The words CASUALTY SORTING clearly visible sent a chill through his form, which caught the attention of his truelove.

"You alright?" Asked the soft voiced femme.

"Huh?...Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just....a memory." Responded the startled Optimus.

"Ironhide and Jazz told me your spent virtually the entire time in there. By my side." Elita explained as she wrapped an arm around one of her lover's.

"I was in a state of shock when I saw you." He struggled to find the appropriate words. "I just wanted to feel, and hold you...incase that...you wouldn't...."

Elita cocked her head slightly sideways and put her mate's hand on her chest. He felt the throbbing of the spark, it's beats were strong and consistent, a far cry from what he had felt before. The big red machine felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around.

"The results are in Optimus. It's time." Ratchet softly announced.

Everybody, including the humans gathered around the Autobot surgeon with much anticipation.

"Here are the results of the medical exam Perceptor and I performed." Announced the red/white Autobot. "The individual that we brought back from the hospital isn't the...real Lita. The biology of that person doesn't match the biology of the Lita that Elita-One rescued, and whom is standing with us now. We theorize that it's some type of clone that the Decepticons used to infiltrate Autobot City. For all intents and purposes, Lita did not betray us Optimus, because it wasn't even her that was here."

Prime exhaled a breath of relief. He knew that Lita wouldn't do such a thing and this news just proved it. He activated his internal communications system and called up a close friend. Elita-One smiled and looked down at a much relieved brunette.

"Congratulations Lita." Said the smiling, soft toned femme.

"Thank you. I'm just glad that it's all over with." Replied a very grateful and teary eyed girl.

A minute later, a tall, red Autobot walked in. As he passed by the humans, Ironhide gave a look of distrust, particularly to the tall brunette.

"Ironhide." Said the Autobot master and commander.

"What's up Prime?" Replied the veteran mech.

Optimus handed over a datapad to him. "Lita isn't a traitor, and here's the proof."

The red and grey mech grabbed the pad and quickly skimmed through it. "...Alright."

* * *

In the human sector of the city, the girls along with Elita celebrated the recent exoneration. It has been a very stressful several hours, and the females just wanted to unwind and relax for a little while. The mechanized femme brought up her energon cube and the humans raised their glasses of vintage wine in a toast. They chatted and laughed amongst each other for some time until they heard a set of metal footsteps come their way. The four femmes looked over and saw Optimus, accompanied with three other bots, Prowl, Bumblebee, and Jazz. The girls raised their elegant glasses and greeted the Autobot master and his entourage. The big red machine acknowledged their greeting, and waved to his mate to come to his side.

"What is it my dear?" Elita asked.

"Lita and her friends must leave. Now." Responded solemn voiced Optimus.

The pink femme bot cocked her head to one side in wonder. "But why?"

He opened a holographic screen and showed her. Footage taken from the closed circuit cameras showed Ironhide glaring at the datapad that Optimus gave him, and by his body language, ole' Ironhide wasn't interested, or didn't care what the results said. He soon showed the pad to some mechs that share his views on the humans and Lita. Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, and Cliffjumper, each looked at the pad while Ironhide spoke. Cliffjumper crushed the pad in his hand, and threw it to the floor. The other bots around him, Ironhide included, pat the red Porsche on the shoulders and nodded in approval. The video ended there.

"But..." Elita struggled to say. "...they saw the evidence. How can they just disreguard it?"

Prime gently grabbed her arms and spoke softly. "After all the humans have done to us over the years, they seem to no longer want to...play the good guys."

"Lita did nothing wrong!" Spat out the upset Elita. "They can't do this!"

"I know my dear. We know she didn't do anything wrong, but this apathy toward the humans has been growing for years, and what happened some days ago just pushed them to the edge." Explained Optimus to his saddened lover.

"I don't want her to leave." Elita said as she looked over at the laughing girls.

"I can no longer guarantee her protection. For Lita's sake, she has to go. Prowl, Jazz, and Bumblebee will escort them until they are safely away from here."

"Then I'm going to escort them too."

He nodded to her request, and then focused his attention to the humans. "Lita. Please come here for a moment."

* * *

A half hour later, Optimus Prime stood by as he watched the convoy of vehicles drive passed him. Prowl lead the way, Jazz took the rear, while Bumblebee and Elita-One flanked Ami's Maserati MC12. After they all left, he slowly and solemnly walked to his quarters, and, wondered if what he did was the right thing. Lita was very upset to being told to leave and never comeback, then she broke into tears after Prime added that she not contact him, Elita or Autobot City ever again. It was not for being cruel to the girl, but because the militant bots would be able to track the signal, and find her. No matter how much Lita protested, Optimus wouldn't budge from his decision. She eventually realised that she had no choice in the matter and obeyed Prime's order. Somehow, he knew his Autobots probably just lost the last human friend they had.

* * *

A pair of F-4 Phantom IIs chased down the sole remaining F-15 Strike Eagle as it attempted to make its escape.

"I'm out of missiles. He's all your Winglet." Said a mechanized male voice from one of the F-4s.

"Ok. I'm on it." Came the female voice from the other.

A duo of projectiles lept from the underbelly of the Phantom and tracked its target with ease. The missiles smashed into the Strike Eagle, and sent it crashing to the ground below. Both F-4s then climbed to a higher altitude and formed up with a circling F-14 Tomcat.

"Canard, Winglet, what's your status?" Asked the female voiced F-14.

"This is Canard." Announced the young Seeker. "I'm alright Foxbat. Winglet and I just took out the last of the American ground-attack flight. They never stood a chance."

"Winglet here. I'm fine Foxbat." Replied the junior femme. "Hey I got a question. Why does Lord Megatron want us to interfere in the humans' conflict?"

"As far as I know Winglet, it's too make this war last for a certain amount of time." Responded the Decepticon femme.

"So what happens when...time's up?" Queried the boyish Seeker.

"I have no idea Canard." Replied the Decepticon flight leader. "But I'm sure we'll find out soon enough."


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

In one of the lower levels of Autobot City, a trio of bots made their way to the detention section. It has been two weeks since the Wreckers, along with Hot Rod, took matters into their own hands. If it wasn't for Prime's quick thinking, Lita would've killed outright. The attitudes of his Autobots, along with the Wreckers' act of insurrection has greatly shaken Optimus' trust in them. In his millions of years of being leader, he has never doubted, or called into question, anyone under his command. That is of course, until now.

Optimus Prime, Elita-One, and Ultra Magnus entered one of the rooms in this seldom used part of their city. The automatic lighting system illuminated the darkened space, and revealed its so called guests. All along the back of the wall, the Wreckers, and Hot Rod remain firmly clamped, their bodies immobile and lifeless. Their open chest compartments revealed nothing but an empty space within, because Prime ordered all their Spark chambers be removed until he decided what to do with them, and that order was implemented as soon as the arresting bots arrived back at Autobot City.

"What are you gonna do with them Prime?" Queried the soft tone Magnus.

"That I still haven't figured out yet." Answered a befuddled Prime. "A too light of punishment will just invite more acts like this, but yet too harsh of one will bring more support and sympathy to them."

"Have you thought of a more...physical discipline?" Further questioned the city commander.

"You mean give a beating to bring them back in line, Magnus?" Optimus replied with a raised optic. "That I don't agree with at all. If I do that I'll be no better than Megatron."

"I don't mean taking it far like Megatron does, but just enough to let them know who's the top dog."

Elita interjected with her own opinion. "I agree with Magnus. After what they did, a physical beating is well within reason. Hell, after what I've seen, add Ironhide, Cliffjumper, and Sunstreaker to the list of beat downs."

For a moment, Optimus remained speechless at the words from his lover. This was something he never expected from her gentle, and mellow spirit. It looked like this aggressive trend has affected more than just the Wreckers and few others, and the big red machine doesn't like it.

"There will be NO beat downs or anything of the sort." Retorted the boss bot. "If we start adopting these traits you two, and others so suggest, then we're no better than the enemy we're fighting against. We are Autobots! Not Decepticons.!"

"Just an opinion, Prime." Admitted a disappointed Ultra Magnus.

The Autobot master crossed his arms, and stayed silent while he contemplated the inmates' temporary fate. He soon snapped his fingers.

"I got it." Prime said all of a sudden, then clicked his communication system. "Ratchet, Perceptor, Wheeljack. Re-install the Spark chambers of the Wreckers, and Hot Rod. I know what to do with them."

* * *

High above the southern coast of Iran an F-14 Tomcat chased down the last of the American F-22 Raptors in her area. The F-22s were tasked with escorting a flight of F/A-18 Super Hornets on a bombing mission into Iranian territory. However, just as they flew over the coast, the USN jets were intercepted by a pair of F-4 Phantom IIs, and thus the American stealth fighters pounced. But as they began their intercept, they themselves were unexpectedly attacked from high above. After two minutes of combat, the Raptor formation was reduced from seven to merely two.

Foxbat easily matched her targets' evasive maneuver and fired a pair of missiles. The F-22s turned hard and launched off flares and chaff in an attempt to break the projectiles' lock, but it was to no avail. The first missile hit the trailing jet's engines, and destroyed the entire rear end. The second smashed into the cockpit, the resulting explosion demolished the front of the jet, and sent it tumbling in flames, just like its former wingmates.

*****Attention all Seekers.*** **Called Rumble over the communications system. *****Lord Megatron has ordered all Decepticon units to leave the Middle Eastern warzone immediately. Return to base.*****

"This is unit seven. Order confirmed." Replied Foxbat.

"Hey Foxbat." Said Canard as he and his sister lined up next to the veteran Seeker. "Why are all the units being recalled?"

"I think....this region just served its purpose Canard." Replied the femme Seeker.

* * *

Spread about the primary communications center, Lord Megatron paced to every station to make sure everything was ready. The war in the Middle East he so carefully orchestrated had fulfilled its usefulness, and it's now time to do away with it. Soundwave glared about the collection of holoscreens around him, and took in all the information relevant to the upcoming curtain fall. The expressionless mech glanced at the two cassetteticon twins; Rumble, and Frenzy, and nodded. The twins looked at their own respective screens, and gave their master the thumbs' up.

"Satellite uplinks operational. Software ready to upload. Appropriate counter-measures set. Awaiting your command Lord Megatron." Announced the monotone voiced Soundwave.

The Decepticon master glanced at his operations commander. "Are they at the expected waypoints Shockwave?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron." Replied the massive mono eyed machine.

"Excellent." Expressed a grinning Megatron as he stepped to a small holoscreen, and placed a hand onto it. "From hell's heart, I stab at the!"

* * *

Aboard one of the American subs, the commanding officer made his rounds, and looked over the data gathered from the previous watch. As usual, no hostiles were detected within the vicinity of his boat, or the British fleet they were attached too. The only exception was a report from USS KITTY HAWK where a pair of Iranian F-4s intercepted its flight of Super Hornets, and decimated the formation. Evenly troubling was their escort of seven Raptors from the Air Force that were pounced by a single F-14, and the ensuing fight saw the loss of all seven F-22s, including their pilots.

"Captain." Called the communications officer. "We are receiving message from Atlantic Command. They are sending new software updates, and codes. It is precautionary measure in face of possible Air Force technologies being compromised by Iran."

"Message is authenticated Sir." Confirmed the sub's XO.

"Looks like SECNAV doesn't want us to suffer the same disasters as the Air Force, or CAGs." Speculated the submarine commander. "Very well. Commence download, and install when finished."

The download took several minutes, which struck the boat's computer techs as odd since no other download took that long. However, once finished they hoped that the install would be much quicker. To their relief it was, and all the NEVADA's systems accepted the new protocols, and everything ran smoothly.

The same happened aboard the ALASKA, where the new updates and codes have been successfully installed. However, something odd captured the attention of a very observant tech officer on NEVADA. The new programs, once installed, automatically dumped and deleted the subs' original programming. Suddenly, the computer screens throughout the vessel flickered at the same time, and the Ohio-class submarine shuttered as it made an emergency stop.

"Why the hell are we stopping!?" Bellowed the captain.

"Unknown Sir! We have suddenly lost all helm control." Replied the Chief of the Boat.

"Conn, this is engineering! All engines are no longer responding to our commands. Cannot regain control!" Reported the chief engineer from his station.

"Captain! All weapons control and screens have gone black. We cannot re-initiate at this time!" Announced another senior officer.

The captain clenched his chin in deep thought. _How the f-ck is this happening?_

"Sir!" Announced the comm man. "Receiving communique from ALASKA. They have suffered complete failure of engines, helm, weapons, and various other systems."

"The same that's happening to us." Observed the submarine's XO.

"Captain! Communications with ALASKA has gone down. I can't re-establish contact with anyone! Its as if the system is being...jammed." Said the compounded junior comm officer.

Another shutter throughout the vessel sent some of the crews crashing to the floor.

"All ballast tanks have blown on their own, and at the same time! We are making emergency surface!" Called the COB.

"Holy crap!" Yelled one of the weapons officers. "All TRIDENT missiles are arming and preparing for launch!"

Another shutter, this one much stronger, sent everyone crashing in all directions. Anything not attached to something went flying around, hitting various crew members, and instruments. Once the vessel steadied itself, all the vertical launch doors opened one by one. The crew regained their balance, and composure, many returned to their stations to see what the screens showed.

"Sir! All vertical launch doors are opened. I....I can't close them." Reported the senior weapons officer.

The NEVADA shuttered once again, and again, and again. "We are launching missiles." Came the solemn voice of the sub's executive officer.

Much further away, the ALASKA did the same. Stuck on the surface, its own compliment of TRIDENT nuclear missiles launched one at a time from the open launch tubes, and there was nothing the crews could do, but watch in horror.

Once all the missiles of both Ohio-class subs have been spent, the vessels suddenly submerged below the waves. They headed deeper, and deeper into the depths of the Persian Gulf, and continued far beyond what their structures could take. The immense pressure utterly crushed the hulls of both American submarines, and then were finished off by the massive explosion of their nuclear reactors.

* * *

Inside the primary communications center, Lord Megatron, with a grin of satisfaction, looked at the various holoscreens that showed the Middle Eastern region. Many lines sprouted from two small points on the Persian Gulf, and spread themselves all over that region. Each line represented a TRIDENT missile being tracked in real time. Megatron stared at the screens for almost a half hour as he followed each line as they arched, and one by one, finished as a simple dot, denoting an impact. All throughout the Middle East, the missiles struck their targets in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, UAE, Quatar, Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait, Oman, Syria, and as far as Egypt, and Turkey. Not one mech in the room said a word or uttered a breath as the event unfolded, and then once it was all done, all shared a collective exhale.

"Congradulations Lord Megatron." Said the mono eyed Decepticon. "You have done it."

Megatron smirked at the congrats of his operations commander. "I'm not done on the world stage yet, Shockwave." Announced the Decepticon Lord. "Soundwave. Contact generals Galvatron, Tankcore, and Lord of the Admiralty Tidalwave. Instruct them to travel to Earth immediately for an urgent meeting with me."

The communications master nodded at the command. "It will be done Lord Megatron."

The huge silver mech walked to the side of his purple colleague before retiring to his quarters. "Shockwave, now we concentrate our efforts on the European Continent, and the United States."


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

It has been two days since the catastrophe in the Middle East. Billions around the world glued themselves to TVs, computers, and whatever other sort of media they could find, hoping to get any new development from that region. The scale of the nuclear assault has been total; capital cities, primary production fields, and primary refineries, along with their hubs, and major ports, all destroyed. It wasn't just the material loss that was devastating, but the human cost was much worse, as all the government officials, skilled workers, and labourers that were needed to operate these areas have been completely wiped out. Those few nations that were not hit by the nuclear missiles face a new crisis, the mass influx of refugees.

In the midst of Riyadh, the...well, former capital city of Saudi Arabia, an Autobot shuttle slowly circled around the destroyed city, as it looked for a proper place to land. The task was a difficult one, since debris of all shapes, and sizes littered the now dead city. Once a suitable area was found, the shuttle touched down, and lowered its rear ramp. What came out was a very unlikely group of _volunteers._

"Man, what a sh-t hole." Exclaimed a low toned Springer with a sharp quip. "Hey, Twin-Twist, looks like you've been through here." He then said with a more upbeat voice.

The aggressive, and destruction loving Twin-Twist looked around, and smirked. "I'd lay down, and have a cigarette after this amount of...indulgence."

"Hey Springer." Called Hot Rod as he descended the ramp. "Prime's on the commlink, he wants to speak to you."

The Wreckers leader exhaled in a annoyed way, and responded. "The bloody hell does he want now."

He sat at the communications station, and looked at the holoscreen before him. "Go ahead Optimus."

"What have you found out so far Springer?" Asked a somewhat stern Optimus Prime.

"Same thing as earlier." Replied the green/grey Autobot as he leaned back in the chair. "Total destruction. Minimal amount of survivors. Radiological readings are extremely high, especially in the impacted areas. Ash still continues to fall from the sky. Air and wind temperature is higher than usual for this time of year in this part of the region. Various fires burn throughout the area, and no sight of emergency or government services. Some military units have moved to give some sign of law, and order. But that's pretty much it."

"What is the status of the those survivors, and the countries that haven't been nuked?" Further inquired the Autobot master.

"The survivors are all in a state of shock, and have begun to show signs of radiation sickness. Israel, and Jordan have seen an influx of survivors so great that their health care systems can't handle them, neither can they feed them. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen. Egypt, and Turkey have suffered one missile impact each, but only to their primary oil production sites. Their capitals and government have remained intact, so they won't collapse." Retorted Springer, and added. "Many have regressed back to the tribal, and nomadic way of life. With the exception of Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey, the Middle Eastern nations no longer exist."

"Alright. When you're done return to Autobot City, and I'll give your report to the UN."

"If the humans want to know the after effects of the nuclear catastrophe, then why don't they do it themselves?" Queried the Wrecker.

"....It'll take too long for for the UN to send teams with full radiation equipment. They need the research information quick so they can properly prepare the proper response to this." Retorted the imposing mech.

"Are we going to be part of this...response?" Asked an annoyed sounding Springer.

"Perhaps." Came Prime's response.

"So in short, we're gonna clean up the sh-t they left over this region." He retorted with one of his usual quips.

The humour was ill received. "After what you, and your teammates did. You have no right to say anything about the humans or anyone else for that matter. You took matters into your own hands and clearly diosbeyed my orders. You think my authority is a joke just because I don't see the humans as you and others do!? Consider yourselves lucky I didn't chose the method of punishment some others wanted me to take." Angrily retorted the big red machine.

"When are you gonna let the humans deal with their own problems, and stop putting us in the crossfire. We help them, and they f-cking shoot us..." Shot back Springer but got cut off.

"ENOUGH!" Prime quickly snapped. "I'm not gonna get into an ethics debate with the likes of YOU." He then calmed, and regained his composure. "Now get back to work. The humans depend on your assistance in this matter." He ended in a sarcastic tone.

The very annoyed Springer struggled, but kept his mouth shut as getting into a yelling match with his master would lead to a pointless verbal fight, and accomplish nothing. Instead he leaned over to shut off the commlink, but stopped at the sound of Optimus Prime's voice.

"One more thing Springer." Announced Prime with a cynical smile. "Thank you for volunteering for this assignment. Glad to see you and the Wreckers are turning around." Then the holoscreen disappeared.

"F-ck you." Springer said under his breath.

He turned around at the sound footsteps, and saw that it was only Hot Rod.

"We're waiting for ya Springer." Said the young Autobot.

"Just last minute instructions from our glorious leader. That's all." He stood up and slowly approached red mech. "Hey, me and the rest of the team really appreciate what you did for us during the whole Lita thing. The guys told me you did a good job leading the team while I was on Trall."

"It was really good at being part of a real team, and leading them, if only for a short time. Thanks for the opportunity, I really appreciate it." Happily replied Hot Rod.

"No problem." Returned Springer. "The guys and I were talking, and wonder if you'd like to be a member of our ranks."

Hot Rod's optics opened their widest at hearing the proposal. "Me? Umm, yeah sure. Great."

The team leader walked forward with a grateful smirk, and placed an arm on Rod's shoulder. "Welcome aboard, brother Wrecker."

* * *

Standing in the primary communications center with Blaster, and Elita-One, Optimus Prime got a little chuckle from his closing remarks. Blaster looked at the boss bot, and just simply can't figure out how the Wreckers, and Hot Rod readily volunteered to help the humans, especially since their insurrection a couple of weeks back. Whatever Optimus said to them surely worked. Even the other more militant, and so called anti-human bots were shocked.

As Prime, and Elita rode the elevator, she decided to finnaly break the ice, and ask him how he did it.

"Just what did you say that made them do that?" Spat out Elita.

After he stopped chuckling, Prime answered. "It's part of their punishment, my dear." He said, and continued. "Whenever the humans require our assistance for humanitarian efforts, the Wreckers and Hot Rod automatically volunteer for it, and they are to make it known that they volunteered. They are also to be completely un-armed at all times, even on missions in...hot spots."

Elita interrupts. "Un-armed in violent regions? Just how can they defend themselves?"

"They will have no choice but to get back into the shuttle and leave the area."

The pink coloured femme smirked and chuckled at the explanation. "Turn tail and run. Oooooo, they're gonna love that." She ended the sentence with a sarcastic tone. "You said this was part of their punishment. Whats the rest?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"What if they refused to go through with this disciplinary action? Or even if they tell you they won't do it anymore?" She queries.

"I have Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor do a complete re-format on them." Answered a serious toned Prime.

Elita looked up at him, her jaw slightly dropped. "A mind wipe? You'd erase all their personalities, memories, behavioural traits, emotions. Making them into simple drones."

"Yes."

She gave a cynical smirk, and wrapped an arm around his. "I like it when you get tough with others."

* * *

Inside the Decepticon base, Starscream angrily walked his way to Megatron's quarters. The sudden change in the command structure came as a shock to the Seeker once he returned from an air patrol with a group of newly arrived Seekers. The meeting was held while he was out, and without his knowledge. Starscream only found out when he crossed paths with Rumble and Frenzy in the mess hall. Upon reaching his destination, he slammed his fist on the door panel.

"What the hell is this, Megatron!?" Bellowed the Seeker as he entered the room.

The silver mech closed his optics, and lowered the sensitivity of his audio receptors upon hearing the loud, screechy voice.

"I take it you heard of the changes to the command structure." Replied the Decepticon master.

"You removed me as Air Commander!" Again bellowed the angry Seeker. "And put Ramjet in charge!"

"Yes I did." Answered the smirking Megatron. "Yours wasn't the only change I made. The new second in command of the Decepticon armed forces is Shockwave. He will still retain his position as operations commander. Soundwave will be third in command, as well as retaining the role as commander of communications."

"What!? You stripped me of my rank of second in command too!?" Yelled Starscream at the worsening news. "Why!?"

Megatron approached the red/white Seeker, and calmly explained the method behind his madness. "I removed you from your previous positions because I've been concerned with your recent behaviour."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Demanded a calmed down Starscream.

"Ever since you brought that human femme here, you've been acting...well, not like yourself." Said the imposing tyrant. "Soundwave showed me video footage of the interrogation he and Shockwave have conducted. You refused to leave the room, and then at the end of the interrogation, you threatened to kill them if they harmed her. Over the week she was here, other Decepticons observed you being gentle, calm, and non-threatening toward the human. Then just before you left on your week long infiltration mission of Autobot City, you went to your brother Thundercracker, and asked him to watch over her while you were gone. And the most concerning of all, I told you to get rid of the insect, and did you do? You flew her out of here, and brought her back home to the Autobots, and her friends. Then just before you left, you gave her some parting words."

"You put Lita in my care, so I don't see how this concerns you." Replied the mellowed out Starscream.

"You actually gave a damn about her didn't you, Starscream. You cared about someone other than yourself." Accused the silver mech.

"What I do with others is MY business, so butt out!"

"That's not who you are, Starscream." Megatron stated with an oddly soft tone. "You're a self-centered, vicious killer. Now get out. I've got work to do."

"I'm not a monster."

"Yes you are. Give this good guy crap a rest." Shot back Megatron.

* * *

The American President looked over the latest findings of the destroyed Middle East. The Autobots were quite thorough in their scanning, and observation mission at the request of the United Nations. The information gathered will certainly help the international community in preparing a proper response to this catastrophe. Siting to his left and right, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reviewed the same data, but they couldn't stop thinking of all the Armed Forces personnel that were lost on that tragic day. The 144 000 strong U.S. contingent in Iraq has been virtually wiped out by the nuclear attacks, as well as their British, and other Allies. It is the worse single day loss in American military history.

The President put the papers down on the table and looked at his Joint Chiefs. "Gentlemen. What forces can we send to the Middle East?"

The Chairman leaned back in his chair and replied in disappointment. "None sir. As you ordered, the KITTY HAWK, and NIMITZ battle groups are retrieving what ever U.S. personnel survived the nuclear attacks. But those are few and very far between. I've discussed this with the rest of the Joint Chiefs, and we all agree that once the retrievals are complete, we should pull out of the region."

"Pull out." Repeated an equally disapointed President. "So we just pack up and leave just like that."

"We don't have a choice sir." Said the Army Chief of Staff. "We have lost virtually all of our forces in the Middle East because of this. With the ever growing trouble on the Mexican border we have no one left to send anywhere. As much as we want to deal with this catastrophe, we just don't have the manpower or the resources anymore. I'm sorry Mr. President, but for the foreseeable future the UN will have to go in it without us."

The President exhaled, and briefly rubbed his face. "As much as it pains me gentlemen. I agree with you all." Thus the subject of the Middle East died right there, and the President focused on another issue at hand. "Have we found anything new about the NEVADA, and ALASKA?"

The Navy Chief of Staff took off his glasses and replied. "No sir. We still have the same information as before. For some unknown reason both subs surfaced, fired their Trident missiles, then dived beyond their recommended depths. The pressure crushed both subs, no survivors. And we got that information from a British destroyer that was on picket duty just beyond their fleet."

"Who else knows of this?" Queried the President.

"Just us, the Brit destroyer, and a few British high brass. Nobody else." Answered the Chairman.

"Lets keep it that way. Last thing this country needs is the whole world knowing OUR subs nuked an entire region, and killed over sixty million people, including our own." Announced the Commander and Chief.

"People will eventually start asking about the missing subs, especially the families of the crews." Speculated the Chairman.

"When the time comes, I'll come up with something. Thank you gentlemen." Ended the President as he stood and went to the Oval Office.


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

Three large mechs stood in the war room, Lord Megatron, and his two highest ranked members of the Decepticon military: Generals Galvatron, and Tankcore. The two VIPs arrived by space bridge, and were met by a full military welcome. After the usual pleasantries, the trio of Decepticon high brass got down to business.

"So, Lord Megatron..." Queried a slightly annoyed Galvatron. "...are we going to finally know how you lost your marbles?"

This got a chuckle from the Decepticon master. "You're one to talk Galvatron." He rebutted. "Gentlemen, the reason I called you here is because we'll soon approach the final stages of my current strategy."

"Ah yes..." Responded the large, and imposing Tankcore. "...what we've been kept in the dark on."

Galvatron, and Tankcore sat in their respective seats at the large table, a holoscreen appeared next to them, it showed the interior workings of a large machine.

Megatron looked at the holoscreen, and queried. "Are you in position, Tidalwave?"

"Yes, Lord Megatron. I'm holding station within this system's asteroid belt. I have not been detected, my lord." Answered the booming voice of the Decepticon naval commander.

"Let us begin then." Announced the Deceticon master as a large holoscreen materialized along the back wall. "Gentlemen. I and Shockwave have bene working on a brand new strategy months ago, one that if successful, will end the war for good. The operation specifically deals with this world, and its inhabitants."

"So why have our operations else where in the galaxy completely change if this strategy only takes place on Earth?" Queried General Tankcore.

"To simply focus the Autobots' attention away from this world. The less they pay attention here, the easier for me to conduct this campaign." Megatron paced a little as he explained. "The retreats from certain systems, and the lack of offensive operations, all carefully calculated to maximize the Autobots' attention, and confusion."

The large silver mech pointed to the huge holoscreen where it showed a global map of Earth. "This new strategy mainly focuses on the Autobots ally; the humans. The goal is to break that alliance. Once the human factor is removed, we can attack Autobot City without interference from the human militaries. The Autobots will be on their own, without allies, and without the energy the human nation states supply them. We attack soon afterward, and end the war for good."

The hulking Tankcore, and imposing Galvatron left their seats, and approached the holo image, scrutenizing the data before them. The pair of Generals occasionaly pointed to parts of the gloabl map, and exchanged brief words.

Galvatron stepped back, but kept his attention on the holographic screen. "So you cut the humans off from their supply of oil, and energy by using these...American submarines to launch their nuclear ordnance to destroy all the vital areas of that...Middle East region. Caused quite the panic and shock amongst the humans."

"Nicely done, Galvatron." Congratulated Megatron. "But I didn't cut off the supply of oil and energy. I merely redirected the supply." He then pointed to a particular nation state. "Russia."

"Why them?"

"The Russia is the only nation on this planet that can militarily, economically, and politically stand against the Western Allies. Swindle has masterfully struck deals with them, and under the guise of a human company, we upgraded all their energy production facilities, and refineries. The more they can produce, the more money they make, and the more funds their military receives."

"And since Russia is the only major supplier now, they can charge what ever they want, and the others will have to pay. Or face total economic collapse." Assumed the purple coloured Galvatron.

"So thats why you sent a unit to Trall." Said Tankcore. "To retrieve some of that mystical water, then use it to disguise as humans, and infiltrate all aspects of their society."

Megatron was very impressed with Galvatron, and Tankcore. Just give them the most basic of information, and they'll figure your whole strategy soon after, and even come up with the counter measures to blunt it. He looked on as they figured out the violence inside Mexico, and along the U.S./Mexican border was just a ruse to keep American forces stateside, away from the Mid-East war. They looked at the future operations in Europe, and America, and pondered what would be the most effective methods in those areas.

"Lord Megatron." Called Tankcore. "One thing I'm concerned with. Just how are we going to effectively attack Autobot City. That place may seem un-imposing, but once the alarm is raised, it becomes an armoured fortress, just an awesome sight. Even with the most carefully planned strategy...casualties will be...to me anyway...unacceptably high."

"Not to worry, old friend." Answered Megatron. "I have a complete map of the ENTIRE city, in and out."

"Since when, my Lord?" Queried Galvatron with an air of surprise. "Every attempt at infiltration has failed."

The giant silver mech chuckled, he loved it when he was able to stump the two Generals, though that was few and very far between. "I had one of my troops assume the form of a human called Lita, a person the Autobots trust and befriended. The mission lasted for a week, and ended in complete success. The Autobots were none the wiser."

"Who did you use?" Asked Tankcore.

"Starscream."

"You took a very BIG risk sending him on such an important mission, my Lord. No other Decepticon in history has such two faced intentions like he does." Rebutted the General.

"Very true, Tankcore. However, if Starscream showed any sign of betrayal, I'd have him stuck in that human female form permanently."

"Female form?"

*****Lord Megatron.*****Called Soundwave over the loud speakers. *****Have received a mayday from one of our air patrols.*****

"Fine, Soundwave. let me hear it."

*****I say again! This is Foxbat! My unit got ambushed by the Autobots! Winglet, and Canard have been shot down! I am unable to reach them, and pinned down by superior fire! Need immediate evac!*****

"Soundwave. Reply to her that evac is on the way." Ordered Megatron.

He pressed a holographic keypad. "Astrotrain, Blastoff! Report to the main hangar bay NOW! The rest of the Combaticons report to hangar bay as well." The mech turned to to the olive drab coloured general. "Tankcore you lead the Combaticons!"

"Yes, my Lord. I request to take a couple of members of my Armoured Division also. They have been here for a few weeks already."

Megatron nodded then looked to Galvatron. "You will lead the Predacons."

"Yes, my Lord. However, we will need the skies cleared before any rescue operation can begin."

The Decepticon master agreed with that assessment, and thought of which Seekers would do the job. He thought of sending the Coneheads, but quickly withdrew that thought. Megatron wanted the best for the job, and knew exactly who to get; the triplets.

"Starscream, Skywarp, Thundercracker! Report to main hangar bay!"

* * *

The pair of Decepticon shuttles flew in formation, with the Seekers in escort position. Astrotrain contained General Tankcore, the Combaticons, and the femme twins from his Armoured Division; Metal Storm, and Metal Siren. Blastoff carried Galvatron, the Predacons, and the medical officer Hook. Their mission; to prevent the humans from re-enforcing the Autobot forces.

The Seeker brothers, all in their F-15 modes have been heavily re-armed with various weaponry that suited their specific role. Thundercracker received a full arsenal for air combat such as missile pods mounted to the underbelly, his pair of laser cannons replaced with 30mm gatling guns, and heavy air-to-air missiles fitted to his wings and vertical stabilizers. Starscream, and Skywarp have been kitted for ground support, as such their weaponry consisted of wing mounted rocket pods, a pair of 35mm cannons, and half a dozen cluster bombs fitted to their underbellies. Unlike TC, they got to keep their original laser cannons.

They neared the Hawaiian Island of Kauai where Foxbat's emergency transmission originated. Galvatron slid open one of Blastoff's doors, and jumped out, quickly followed by the Predacons. Hook stayed on board, and prepared his equipment for the eventual. Circling above the battlefield were the Aerialbots, poised to intercept any Decepticon rescue from the air.

"Thundercracker." Called Starscream. "Take out the Aerialbots before ground operations can commence, and establish air supremacy."

TC quickly accelerated toward the flying Autobots, his heart fully committed to the fight. Show time.

"Incoming bogey. It's a Decepticon!" Announced the Aerialbot leader, Silverbolt. "Aerialbots. Form up."

The Autobot squadron positioned themselves around their leader, and turned to intercept the advancing enemy. The loud mouthed Slingshot opened the group's communications system to the Decepticon's frequency.

"Get ready to meet your maker, Deceptif*ck!" He shouted ove the airwaves.

The blue coloured F-15 Eagle, unfazed by intimidating spatter, replied in kind for all to hear. "You're gonna find out why I'm called, THUNDERCRACKER!"

TC easily dodged the Autobots' missile attack, then sped straight into their formation. His turbine engines spooled up, and let loose an ear piercing sonic boom. He quickly turned about, target locked all of the disoriented Autobots, then fired. A dozen mini-missiles leaped out of the missile pods, and chased their respective targets. Skydive, Fireflight, Slingshot, and Air Raid suffered multiple hits each, engines, wings, canopies, and chunks of fuselage exploded. Silvebolt's wings, and engines were destroyed from some of Thundercracker's heavy air-to-air missiles, and down went all of the Aerialbots, nothing more but fiery wreckage that plunged to the ground.

"Air supremacy established, Starscream!" Called TC over the comm system. "Ground operations may commence."

On the ground, Foxbat looked skyward with a slight grin on her face. _That was him. _She thought as she recognized the sonic boom from high above. _He came for me, and he'll get me outta here._The femme regained her senses and re-focused her attention to preventing the Autobots from getting to her fallen wingmates. Her 20mm gatling gun burst to life, sending hundreds of rounds to the Autobot position.

Optimus Prime began to get it together then ducked as bullets rang around his makeshift command position. He dared a look and saw that Ironhide, Brawn, and Warpath still held their heads from the sudden sonic boom, their advance to the fallen Decepticons halted. The sound of more turbine engines caught his attention as he detected a pair of contacts dived from the sky.

"Air strike!" He yelled. "Get to cover!"

Starscream, and Skywarp streaked over the battlefield and fired their rockets. The many explosions kept the trio of mechs down, Brawn took a direct hit and flew back many meters, and Warpath was sent into the air as a couple struck the ground underneath him. The duo pulled up, circled around, and made another pass. They dropped their cluster bombs where at a certain height, the ordnance casings separated, and out came hundreds of bomblettes. The mini-bombs blanketed the Autobots' side of the battlefield, and sent them scrambling for better cover.

Prime's situation was quickly falling apart. The Aerialbots were blown out of the sky, Ironhide's team was pinned down, and his command position was detected, and compromised. He focused his optics to a large object that landed in the distance. It was the Decepticon transport known as Astrotrain. The side door slid open and a unit of Decepticon ground forces jumped out; the Combaticons, a couple of femme twins, and a large, olive drab coloured mech. Optimus knew it was only a matter of time until this operation failed utterly. The Autobot master stayed in thought for a moment, then realised it was time for Plan B. He turned to Hound, and nodded.

Hound de-activated his holo-emitter, and off in the distance, a hill disappeared to reveal an extremely large mech. The mechanized being slowly moved, and lifted itself from its crouched position, and stood fully upright. The giant mech turned his head around where a large laser cannon was mounted. The left arm, where instead of a hand was an imposing plasma cannon, pointed to the group of Decepticon ground troops that were stood still at the sheer unexpected sight.

Optimus Prime commed the gaint mech. "Omega Supreme. Open fire!"


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.**

"Scatter!" Yelled general Tankcore.

The ground force split up, and Astrotrain made a hasty takeoff just before the incoming rounds impacted their position. The massive, super heated plasma round shook the earth, and burnt the surrounding florae. The Combaticons took cover behind a nearby hill, while Tankcore and the femme twins behind another. Explosions threw grass, dirt and other natural objects into the air as more laser rounds from Omega Supreme hit their defensive positions.

The cautious Tankcore peaked his head over the hill crest to get a quick look at what he's up against. The gigantic Autobot guardian mech, Omega Supreme lumbered steadily to his forces' positions. It didn't move directly to the downed Seekers however, and only fired on his ground force. He ducked back down as another burst from Supreme's laser cannon slammed into the hill side, and sent debris raining down. _So that's their plan then. _Pondered the olive drab coloured mech.

"Ok people, listen up." Called Tankcore to his ground force, and the Seekers above. "The Autobots are trying to keep us from reaching our downed comrades so they can nab them. We're not the priority."

"So what's the plan, General?" Queried the Combaticon leader, Onslaught.

"Wait one, Onslaught." Replied the large mech, then activated his long-range comm system. "Galvatron. We've encountered unexpected Autobot resistance. Can you and the Predacons assist?"

*****Negative, Tankcore.*****Rebutted General Galvatron, the noise of gunfire and explosions in the background. *****We've intercepted a force of American vessels that were on their way to aid the Autobots. We've got our hands full with them.*****

"Understood." He replied, and quickly formulated a strategy. "Starscream, Skywarp! You two provide air support for our distressed colleagues. Keep the Autobots away from them! Thundercracker, you keep the airspace clear! They don't have a Decepticon emblem, they don't live! Astrotrain, Blast Off, you two keep circling, as soon as I call it, evac us!" He then focused on the ground troops. "Combaticons, concentrate fire on that Autobot monstrosity!" The General then looked at the femme twins with him. "Metal Siren, Metal Storm. Follow me."

Optimus Prime looked over the battlefield, and observed. The Decepticon ground force has been plit up and pinned down, and their shuttle transports are merely circle well above. Ironhide's team regained their senses, and once again advanced to the fallen Seekers. Prime unholstered his battle rifle, then nodded to Hound, and Ratchet.

The trio leapt from their command position, and provided anti-aircraft fire for Ironhide's team. The Seekers dodged the Autobot fire and let loose a volley of rockets. The explosions rocked the Autobots, but still they advanced.

"Ironhide!" Yelled Optimus. "Get your team to those fallen Decepticons! They won't risk hitting their own kind!"

"Got it , Prime." Replied the veteran mech, then thought. _That's IF the Decepticons give a crap about their own._

The big red machine fired a burst at the passing Seekers as they made a strafing run. Their shots peppered the ground, and some hit their mark, but the Autobot team remained steadfast. He pondered at the unsual tenacity of the Decepticons risking life and limb to save a few of their own. Whatever the reason is for the Decepticons' complete change in behaviour, Megatron seems hell bent on making sure Prime's Autobots never find out.

Behind another hill, General Tankcore peeked over the crest, and saw that the Combaticons gathered Omega Supreme's full attention, then glanced to see the Autobots have almost reached the downed Seekers. He had to act fast.

A trio of military vehicles, two Leopard2A6 PSO tanks, and a large Cybertronian battle tank rolled over the hilltop and charged the massive Autobot mech from the rear. The large tank aimed its main gun and fired at the leg, hitting the back of the knee. He watched at the mech limped slightly.

"Tankcore to ground force! Aim for the knees!" Bellowed the Decepticon General over the comm link. "Drop that motherf*cker!"

The twin Leopard tanks aimed their 120mm cannons, and blasted away with plasma rounds. Across the battlefield, Onslaught peered over the hill his Combaticons were taking cover, and seen the gargantuan Autobot's attention focused on Tankcore's group.

"You heard the General, Combaticons!" Bellowed the Onslaught. "Take out the knees!"

Transformed into their own vehicle modes, the Combaticons charged in and let loose with everything they had. Omega Supreme's knee sections buckled under the tremendous bombardment, and soon gave way. A pair of massive explosions ripped apart, and crushed the lower legs. Omega Supreme collapsed face down into the battle scared ground, the resulting crash sent vibrations throughout the entire island.

Optimus Prime looked in shock, and knew it was now or never. "Autobots! Get to the fallen Decepticons, NOW!" He yelled out.

Prime reached into a small storage compartment and pulled out a handle like object, and activated it. The energon extended out of the handle and shaped into a glowing energon battle axe. Weapons in hand, he charged at full stride, and ignored the rockets and laser fire from Starscream and Skywarp. He used the momentum, and kicked Foxbat square in the chest. The sheer power of the impact crushed her chest, and sent the femme crashing onto her back some distance away. Optimus followed up, and swung the energon axe into the helpless Foxbat.

High above the battlefield, Thundercracker listened in horror as the last transmission from Foxbat was an ear piercing scream then dead silence. He tried to raise her again but was met with just white noise. Fearing the worst, he disobeyed Tankcore's orders and dove onto her position.

Optimus Prime stood over the femme's lifeless body.

"Oh Primus." He said with a soft, and shaky voice. "What have I done."

Ironhide, and Brawn were knocked off their feet after being hit by high explosive shells from the twins' 120mm guns. Warpath transformed into his tank mode and engaged the Decepticon pair. The trio of main battle tanks went toe-to-toe, and slugged it out. Tankcore rolled on through the armoured slugfest, and zeroed in on a distracted Optimus Prime. The Decepticon General transformed into his robot mode, and at full stride, tackled the Autobot master. The two rolled, then separated and got back to their feet to ready themselves.

"General Tankcore." Prime whispered as he recognized the hulking Decepticon.

A blast of 30mm rounds from Thundercracker high above showered the Autobot master, startling him. The Decepticon General punched Prime in the side of the head, and slashed at his chest with a pair of extended blades from his forearm. The Autobot grabbed his opponent's arm and swung him up and over, crashing Tankcore hard into the ground, then tried to stomp on the 'Con. The quick thinking General gripped the falling foot with both hands, then fired his arm mounted gatling gun into the Autobot's leg. Prime grunted, and fell back from the painful sensation, but regained his senses when a massive weight dropped onto him. Optimus used his massive strenght, and tossed off the large Decepticon, but couldn't follow through as more rounds from TC peppered him.

"General Tankcore." Called Metal Storm as she finished off the Autobot Warpath with one last shot from her 120mm cannon. "These Autobots are out of the fight. Metal Siren and I are refocusing fire on a pair of stragglers that are firing on our air support."

"Very well." Replied Tankcore as get raised himself to his feet. "Astrotrain! Evac us now! On my position!" He then fired a couple of missiles from his shoulder mounted launchers, where one impacted Optimus in the shoulder which spun him back, and the other exploded on his torso, and sent the Autobot flat on his back.

Thundercracker gently lifted Foxbat's head, and surveyed her broken body. Prime's axe cut through her shoulder and ran down to her chest, leaving a massive gash right through her. He lifted her slowly as Blast Off landed nearby.

"You are suppose to keep the skies clear, Thundercracker!" Bellowed Tankcore. "Storm, Siren, grab the other fallen Seekers and get them aboard! Combaticons, get on Blast Off, we're leaving! Starscream, Skywarp, cover our escape!" He then switched to the long range comm link. "Galvatron. We have our objectives, and are on our way home. Astrotrain is heading to retrieve you!"

*****Confirm old friend. Just make it quick. Americans are sending heavy air support your way.*****Replied Galvatron.

"Got it. Thanks for the heads up."

Hound fired his missile launcher, and hit one of Blast Off's engines. Hook steadied his equipment from the sudden shaking, and rechecked the life signs of the three Seekers.

"General! If we don't get outta here, we're gonna lose them. We must leave NOW!" Yelled Hook from the shuttle's doorway.

The damaged, and dirt covered Tankcore climbed into the shuttle under the covering fire of the tank femmes, and slammed the door shut. "All aboard Blast Off! Time to go!"

Starscream and Skywarp strafed the Autobots relentlessly, and soon joined up with Blast Off as he exited the battle area.

Ratchet grabbed Prime by the shoulders and sat him up. Optimus looked around the devastated area, and tried to let the reality of things sink in. This was the largest engagement since the Decepticons changed their methods, and once again they failed to capture a single Decepticon alive.

"Easy, Prime." Cauthioned Ratchet as he helped Prime to his feet. "Your leg took quite a bit of damage, and your systems are still recovering. Take it slowly."

*****Optimus, this is Jazz. Second wave has been launched.*****Announced the Autobot second in command over the airwaves.

Optimus Prime surveyed the area around him: Omega Supreme layed motionless, smoke rose from his destroyed legs, the Aerialbots, still in their aircraft modes, were offline. Brawn moaned, and groaned where he fell, Ironhide limped to Prime, his left arm blown off, and what remained of Warpath burned. Is capturing a Decepticon really worth the losing one or more of his Autobots? His dedication to his duties as master and commander conflicted with a sense of doubt about all that has happened, one being that Decepticon femme he ruthlessly attacked. From what he remembered, the look on her face, wasn't one of hatred or anger, but of fear as she gazed upon him when he lunged at her.

He picked up his energon axe, and de-activated it, placing the handle into a storage compartment in his undamaged leg.

* * *

In the C&C room located inside the highest tower in Autobot City, Jazz paced around while he waited for Prime to reply. An ensemble of bots manned various computer comsoles, and off in the corner stood Hot Rod and next to him was the primal looking, and imposing Grimlock. Ever since the Wrreckers' and Hot Rod's rebellious actions some time ago, Optimus assigned the Dinobots to guard them at all times. Since he had permission to stop Hot Rod and the Wreckers by whatever means he saw fit, Grimlock didn't object.

"Prime. Second wave is on way to intercept the Decepticons. Powerglide will have visual contact in minutes." Said Jazz over the comm system, hoping to get a reply this time."

*****Jazz. This is Prime.***** Came the long waited answer. *****Negative. Do not pursue Decepticons.*****

The room suddenly went silent, wondering what they heard was true. Jazz paced a little, and quickly glanced around the pondering faces in the C&C.

"Ummm. Say again Prime?" He requested.

*****Negative, Jazz.*** **Confirmed Optimus. *****I'm calling off this operation. Recall the reserve force...let them go.*****

Sideswipe sat at his console, and gestured to Jazz. He pointed at a set of Autobot symbols drawing ever closer to a pair of Decepticon insignias.

"But Prime. The reserve force is closing on the Decepticons. We can get them!"

*****I say again. Call it off! I'm not risking anymore lives in this endeavor.*****

Jazz looked at Sideswipe's holoscreen again, and assessed the developing situation. "Optimus! Powerglide is in weapons range of the Decepticon shuttles. He has a firing solution! We can do this!"

*****I said NO, Jazz!*****Yelled an irritated Optimus Prime. *****Issue the recall order! It's over.*****

Jazz struggled to keep his mouth shut. The Autobots in the room looked at him for an answer. Jazz paced a little more then stopped and put his hands on his hips.

".....yes, sir." He finally spoke in a soft tone, then clicked several keys on a holographic key pad. "Recall order issued."

*****I'll see you when I get back. Prime out.*****

"F*CK!" Bellowed Sunstreaker once the comm link was closed.

"God dammit, Prime!" Said Cliffjumper out loud.

"One step forward, two steps back, AGAIN!" Vented Sideswipe, then kicked his station.

Grimlock exhaled a breath of disapproval, and clenched his fist.

"Shut it, people!" Ordered Jazz whom had enough of the insubordinate spatter. "He's our boss bot, and we do what he tells us. Wether you like it or not!"

"Then maybe it's time we start to consider a NEW boss bot." Said an annonimous voice.

Jazz turned around to face the speaker and narrowed his optics once he realized whom it came from. "And who's gonna lead us? YOU, Hot Rod!? Yeah, right." Then added with sarcasm. "Keep dreaming, glorious leader, Rodimus Prime!" He composed himself after a moment to let his comeback sink into Hot Rod. "You have a real reason to be here, or just screwing around?"

He walked up to the self proclaimed 'cool man' of the Autobot ranks, with Grimlock on his heels, and handed him a datapad. "Special delivery, from my brother Wreckers. The updated data from the Middle East region, and the United Nations' currrent humanitarian capabilities. In short, they're f*cked."

Jazz snapped his fingers, and Grimlock took Hot Rod back to his cell. Hot Rod smirked as he left C&C and thought about Jazz's words_. Rodimus Prime, huh. I like the way it sounds._


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of it's respected owner. Good reading.**

_Optimus Prime ran at her at full stride and attacked. He swung down his battle axe, and brutally cut_ _into the Decepticon femme's form_. Foxbat struggled to move from her laid down position, but something held her down. She slowly opened her optics and saw a blurred, winged shaped figure fill her sight. Once her optics regained their full effectiveness, she stopped her struggle.

"Shadow of doubt." She whimpered in relief. "It's...you."

Thundercracker relaxed his grip on her body, and gave a gentle smile. "Yeah, kiddo. I'm here."

"I...I knew you'd come." Said Foxbat with a slightly shaky voice. "Some of the Autobot flyboys kept communicating to me, saying that help won't come and that I should just give up and accept my fate."

"Relax, Foxbat." Assured the blue Seeker. "You, and the two others are back at base. You're safe."

The femme struggled to stabilize her voice, but it wasn't working. The memories of that fight began to manifest itself into a nightmare. "They, they said that I'm not worth the effort to save." A couple of tears leaked our of her optics when she briefly closed them. Foxbat slowly raised an arm to TC's face.

Thundercracker knew what was coming. She wanted to touch him, to feel him, and if she did, the nightmares would surface. What she had been through was terrifying and only wanted some kind of comfort, so going against his better judgement, Thundercracker let her touch him. He clenched his eyes, and braced himself, when the femme's hand gently cupped his cheek. The tidal wave of nightmarish imagery of old flooded his processors all at once; the laughter from his Autobot jailers, their taunting, the pain they inflicted, the sadistic glee on their faces, the humiliation at the hands of their femmes, and finally the breaking of his body and mind.

Foxbat went on heavy hearted. "Then, a sonic boom erupted in the sky, and the voices ceased. I knew right then it was you, TC. You came and proved them all wrong. We are worth it."

"Hey, hey." Replied a soft voiced TC as he struggled with the nightmares that flew inside his head. "The Autobots talk alot. They told me the very same things when I was....well you know. Then one day you burst into my cell, you proved them all wrong, way back when."

"Yeah." She responded with a kind smile, then slowly lowered her hand back down to her side. "How are Winglet and Canard?"

TC slowly relaxed as the horrid images steadily sunk back deep into the depths of his memory banks. He took a slow deep breath, and refocused his efforts back to a heavy hearted Foxbat.

"They'll live." Thundercracker said with a soft voice and slight smile. "We almost lost them both, and you too, but Hook pulled all three of you through."

Several beds over, Hook as putting the finishing touches on Starscream's repairs. The damage he suffered during the battle was mostly superficial, and will make a full recovery soon enough. The Seeker looked to the open doorway and the sight made him sick to the pit of his spark chamber. Air Commander Ramjet spoke with Lord Megatron, undoubtedly about the rescue operation, and Ramjet was probably giving Megatron some bullsh*t story to steer the blame away from him.

"Alright, Starscream. You're good as new." Said Hook upon the completion of the repairs, and then went to see how Foxbat was doing.

The former Air Commander flapped his newly repaired wings a little then folded themselves onto his back. He was going to leave but was intercepted by an approaching Megatron with Ramjet in tow.

"You can ask my predecessor yourself, my Lord." Said an arrogant toned Ramjet.

_Predecessor? You f*cking tool. _Thought Starscream.

"Starscream." Called Megatron as he stepped up to the screechy voiced Seeker. "Ramjet here has told me that under your...previous leadership as Air Commander, you have neglected to send recon flights in certain areas of this planet, and the data he has shown me, which are from YOUR previous files by the way, confirm what he has said. Care to elaborate this?"

"Yes I can." Confirmed the red/white Seeker as he stood up from the infirmary bed. "Those so called neglected areas have been designated no-fly zones, by me."

"And why is that...underling?" Queried the audacious voiced Ramjet.

"Because, you f*cking idiot." Rebutted an annoyed Starscream. He never liked being looked down upon, especially by a second rate Seeker such as Ramjet and his fellow Coneheads. "Those areas, in particular the Hawaiian Islands...are air defence kill zones! Any Decepticon unit travelling through these areas are fired upon and swarmed by very intricate air defence systems. Naval vessels, aircraft, surface-to-air missile sites, radar networks, all integrated into very well organized air defence systems. The Autobots use these places as their primary fallback positions when they are in retreat from us."

"So why haven't you tried others means?" Asked the imposing Megatron.

"Because, to get extremely detailed and first hand data, we have to use our own optics to gather the intel. That requires flying at very low altitudes, and with several passes made. That is suicide in those areas."

"How very touching." Teased the smirking Decepticon master. "You actually give a damn about your fellow Decepticons. Perhaps even more than that human female...Lita?"

That touched a cord with the Seeker, Megatron could see it in his face. For some reason he just couldn't figure out why Starscream would react in such a manner whenever Lita was brought up. Starscream is an opportunist, sadistic, traitorous, violent, ruthless, and cruel individual. All the traits of a monster, and yet, that human girl brought out some contradicting ones, traits Starscream thought he had lost forever. Though, it mattered not at this point, the girl served her purpose long ago and was just an insignificant pawn in his fiendish game of chess with the Autobots and humans.

The Decepticon master had a small chuckle at the Seeker's expense, and with Ramjet in tow, went on his way. An annoyed Starscream exhaled, he wants his old job back, plain and simple. Though Ramjet has overlooked a crucial part of Starscream's files, which nearly cost the lives of three Seekers, and quite possibly the land details of Megatron's new strategy in Optimus Prime's hands, it would take more to curry Megatron's favor.

"My Lord." Said Ramjet as he followed his master in the hallway. "Our units in Europe have completed their infiltration of the assigned areas, and operations there will begin soon. Also, the NATO alliance have sent up more armed defense satellites into Earth's orbit. The last batch is due to launch in a couple of weeks, after which, NATO's missile shield will be complete."

Megatron grinned at the positive news. "Good. Unlike the Middle East, our instigation's on the European continent will provoke a far quicker retaliation. The tensions there have risen quickly since the Middle East conflict and the worldwide energy crisis that followed. Not to mention the ages old rivalries that have re-surfaced there." He looked down on his forearm and opened a small holoscreen. "Once the two mercenaries complete the latest task I'll have everything I need. After which, I'll have no use for them. You what to do."

Ramjet smirked at his leader's carefully chosen words. "Yes, my Lord."

Starscream turned his head slightly, and noticed his older brother, Thundercracker, rest his hand on the femme's forehead then slowly made his way to the med center's exit. With a quick thought, and a slight smirk, he followed him.

"Thundercracker." Called Starscream some paces behind the blue Seeker. "A moment of your time."

TC stopped his pace and closed his eyes upon hearing his former brother's words. He and Starscream had an understanding and parted ways some time ago, the only exception was when Stascream brought a canister with Lita in suspended animation inside and asked TC to keep her safe until he returned. The eldest of the triplets now wondered what his younger sibling wanted this time.

"What is it?" TC exhaled, a little annoyed at the interruption.

"Come with me." Beckoned the screechy voiced Seeker, a muffled click in his cockpit barely audible. "Let's have a chat."

* * *

Both walked to one of the massive storage bays, and found a secluded area to have their little chat.

"Alright, Starscream." Exhaled a still slightly more annoyed Thundercracker for being led to this far for a simple talk. "What do you want?"

"Ramjet doesn't have the qualities for being an Air Commander. You know that as well." Said the screechy voiced Decepticon. "We almost lost all three of them because of his incompetence, and ignorance. Ramjet acts before he thinks, and that combination will eventually get someone, or many, killed by his actions. I can't serve under a commander like that. How bout you?"

Thundercracker stared at his so called former brother for a moment or two without saying a word. He tilted his head slightly, and a small, simple smirk was his only reaction.

"Well?" Queried Starsceam.

TC chuckled, and after he regained his composure some seconds later, responded. "You actually think I'm that stupid don't you, Starscream?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You want your job back, plain and simple." Said TC, then explained further his sibling's motives. "You're telling me all this because you want my support in your bid to become Air Commander again. And after you have my support, Skywarp will give his as well, because he trust's my judgment. Then once you have Skywarp and I backing you up, you'll tell the other Seekers, mainly the new arrivals such as Foxbat, Canard, and Winglet because they mostly don't know a thing about the Coneheads' reputations, about Ramjet's actions and they'll see the folly of his command, and will support you in turn. When Megatron sees all this, he would strip Ramjet of his command and give you your old title back. Did I pretty much...as the humans say: hit the nail on the head?"

Starscream, taken aback by Thundercracker's revelation, couldn't believe what has happened. TC just figured everything out with Starscream barely saying anything about his motives. He had to give credit to his elder brother though, despite his relaxed, and doubtful demeanor, TC was the most dangerous when his heart was in it, and it was this time.

"Seems that I was too ambitious for the moment." Admitted the defeated Seeker.

"I will give you this though, Stascream." TC said. "Ramjet doesn't have the qualities to be a competent Air Commander, and yes, his actions so far would only lead to Seekers getting killed, and probably even captured by the Autobots. Do I trust him with my life? No...I sure as hell don't. Despite our split, Starscream, you are the better Air Commander. Megatron screwed up when he re-organized the Decepticon Command Structure, especially that of the Air Force."

"Well, glad to see you think that."

TC nodded then turned to leave.

"Just one thing." Interrupted the screechy voiced mech. "With everything that's about to take place in the later stages of the new strategy. What do you think of the chances of success?"

"For some reason or another, Megatron's plans always fall apart and fail." Admitted Thundercracker with a solemn tone. "I doubt that this strategy will be any different."

"But it's worked up to this point so far."

"Yeah, it has. But in the end, Megatron's strategy will come undone, and we will pay a very high price for his failure."

"Guess we'll just have to wait and see." Proclaimed Starscream. "Thanks for taking the time to chat with me. It's...been a while."

TC nodded and left the storage bay. Once he was gone and Starscream looked around to make sure it was safe, a muffled click sound once again originated from his cockpit. He opened it, and moved aside the pilot seat and pulled out the digital recorder that was placed behind it. A smirk came to his face as he was very pleased with what has transpired, everything went according to plan. The Seeker held the recorder in his palm, and simply smiled. _You are right about about one thing, dear brother._Thought the scheming Starscream. _I do want my job back...no matter what._

* * *

A stream of U.S. military vehicles proceeded on their easterly heading down a, now, deserted highway near the American/Mexican border.

The violence inside the northern provinces of Mexico between the various powerful cartels and military have virtually destabilized that part of the nation, and it has begun to spill over the border into the United States. The American administration has reacted by putting thousands of Marine and Army troops along the volatile border, but the fighting is still spilling over somehow. The column of Humvees moved under the cover of night, as attacks on U.S. units have been increasing since the build up, to better stay hidden from possible hostiles coming from the Mexican side of the frontier.

"Hey, Epps." Said the unit commander, Major Lennox from his position in the passenger seat of the lead Humvee upon noticing an un-identified vehicle approaching. "We the only unit in the area?"

Master Sergeant Robert Epps, sitting in the back seat, checked his various devices and confirmed his findings. "Yeah, Major. This highway is off-limits to civies."

Lennox scratched his head momentarily. "Then who the hell?" His train of thought stopped as the approaching vehicle flashed its familiar beacons. "Looks like local P.D."

"What the hell are they doing out here? All Police, Fire, and Ambulance services know not to tread into the off limit zones. Unless it's an extreme emergency, and they got permission." Replied the African/American Master Sergeant.

"Guess he got an emergency then." Said the Major, then got on the Humvee's radio. "Ok people. We got incoming local P.D." He announced over the airwaves. "Slow your speed and stay in the right lane. Give him room."

The column off vehicles obeyed the order, and moved over accordingly. The troops looked over as the police retrofitted Saleen Mustang slowed its own speed to a crawl, which Lennox and Epps found quite odd. Just as odd was the car's slogan on its rear fender.

"Hey Lennox." Called Epps. "You catch that slogan on the Mustang?"

"No. What about it?"

"It read: To Punish and Enslave." Explained the Master Sergeant. "Some hillbilly cop's idea of humour?"

The troops closed their eyes abruptly as a sudden bright blue light quickly swept over each Humvee, then went away once the police car passed the convoy.

"Item located." Announced Barricade over the comm link. "Blackout. Spring the trap."

A pair of rockets slammed into the road just ahead of Lennox's Humvee causing the driver to turn the vehicle hard. Another volley of projectiles destroyed a pair of vehicles behind the lead lead one, and sent the lead Humvee flipping over. Lennox, and Epps, crawled out and headed for cover.

"Incoming fire coming from the Mexican side of the border!" Spat out Epps from behind a large rock.

"Call for support!" Ordered Lennox from his own cover, then ducked as his own vehicle suddenly blew up.

The Master Sergeant tried his radio, but couldn't get any signal. "Radio's no good. I think we're being jammed!"

A hail of bullets riddled the surviving troops as they leapt out of their doomed Humvees. Lennox and Epps witnessed one of the vehicles at the back of the column thrown into the air, not not from an explosion, but as if something tossed it. The one in front of it tossed as well. Lennox glared around the scene of carnage in hope of finding other survivors, but found none. It's just him and Epps now.

They peaked over their covered positions, and saw a large, mechanical being running toward them. Lennox looked over to his wrecked vehicle and noticed the familiar tube shaped device, the AT-4 rocket launcher. He burst from his position behind the large rock, but was cut down before he could reach his objective. Epps stared in shock, but a sudden thumping in the ground refocused his attention to the large mech standing right above him. He indistinctly raised his weapon and fired, but the rounds harmlessly bounce off the armoured being. Blackout pointed an arm at the horrified man and let loose a burst from the arm mounted gatling gun.

"No survivors, and all transmissions were blocked, Barricade." Announced Blackout of his findings. "Was the item damaged in any way?"

"No." Confirmed Barricade as he walked to his long time companion, and broke open the armoured case. "To their credit, the humans here built the protective case quite well." He then tossed the laptop to the mech. "See what you can find."

The massive Blackout held the device in his hand and hacked into all it's systems and files, dissecting very bit of info he could find with ease. "Alright. Got it all." He assured, then paused for a moment. "Huh. This has all the information on the Pentagon's internet, and intranet services. Including all ISPs, servers...AND...all their corresponding passwords and codes."

Barricade pondered this for a moment. "Megatron will be able to hack into the Americans' military systems without raising an eyebrow from the humans. But why? The Decepticons completely outpower the American military, Megatron has no use for this stuff."

Blackout nodded then tossed away the electronic book. "No use for what we can see. Perhaps this is a small piece to a much larger puzzle."

The black/white mech paced around a little, and thought about what the Decepticons were up too. Mercenaries never really inquired the reason behind the jobs they were tasked and paid for, all that mattered is that the mercenary got paid once the job was done. But, this time the jobs were sort of odd. Rescue the human female formed Starscream, raise tensions on a nation state's border, gather info on various military dispositions around certain areas, map making missions in cities like New York, Washington D.C. just to name a couple, watch Autobot movements for patterns. All the jobs barely involved any combat, and were all at random. The more Barricade thought, the more things didn't add up. The Decepticons were up to something, probably something very big Barricade concluded.

Barricade stopped his train of thought, then looked at his longtime partner. "Ok. Blackout, make a copy of everything you got from that laptop to your hardrive. Maybe this info is worth more than what Shockwave is paying for."

"That is assuming we get paid for this job." Spat out an annoyed sounding Blackout. "Shockwave hasn't paid up for the past three jobs. I'm getting the feeling the Decepticons are just leading us on, and then once they've had their fill with us, they'll refuse to pay and tell us to f*ck off." He grumbled at the end of his little rant. The thought of getting screwed out of what's owed is the biggest insult, and most dangerous thing one can do to a mercenary. "Not like we didn't get screwed out of our pay before."

Barricade nodded at the sour speech from his colleague. "True. If that is the case, then I know exactly who will be interested in what we have."

* * *

Inside the massive hangar bay of Autobot City, a task flooded Bumblebee tapped away on his datapad the many convoys of semi-trucks, their cargo containers full with crucial supplies destined for the destroyed Middle East region. The Autobot glanced around his surroundings, but the Wreckers were nowhere in sight. He soon spotted them leaned up against a wall of unloaded containers, and was a little annoyed at not being told they wanted to take a break.

"Hey, Wreckers!" Shouted Bumblebee over the noise of the busy hangar bay. "These trucks aren't gonna unload themselves. Get to it!"

"Come on 'bee." Replied a weary Hot Rod. "Our hydraulics need to cool down."

Bumblebee huffed at Hot Rod's use of his nickname. Only his friends call him 'bee, and Hot Rod stopped being that when he went vigilante on Lita.

"You got five minutes. That's it!" Loudly said the Autobot.

The allotted time elapsed, but the Wreckers weren't at work. This annoyed Bumblebee alot, just because he doesn't have the size or strengh of his larger Autobot brethren, doesn't mean they should disregard his instructions when he's in charge of a team. After a quick search, Bumblebee found the wayward group at the opposite end of the hangar bay, who were quietly speaking to Powerglide and Chromia. It wasn't uncommon for the Wreckers to get visits from other Autobots, but what concerned Bumblebee is that the visitors were always Autobots that shared the Wreckers' view of humans, and Optimus Prime's floundering leadership.

The mech kept his distance as not to be seen by his prey. His optics and audio receptors adjusted themselves accordingly, when all was set, Bumblebee put his greatest skill to use.

*****I just spoke to Sunstreaker, and Sideswipe.*****Whispered the Autobot Powerglide. *****They're all set and got a few more signed on.*****

*****Arcee, Moonracer, Firestar are with us.*** **Added the hush toned Chromia.

*****What about your boss-bot, Elita-One?***** Queried Springer.

*****She'll stand by her mech no matter what. Elita will be a target.*** **Replied the blue coloured fembot as she crossed her arms. *****We all know what out tasks are, don't worry. Optimus is too naive, he won't see this coming.*****

Springer nodded then glanced at the bots around him. *****Alright. Tell everybody it is a go.*****

Bumblebee's concentration wandered between his eavesdropping and pondering what they were talking about. _Sunstreaker got a few more signed on? Elita's a target for what? What is Optimus not going to see coming? _Thought the little yellow mech from his hiding place behind a cargo container. _They're not gonna do something to Optimus are they? _Bumblebee didn't like what he was listening too, and the more he heard, the more nervous it made him. After a minute more, the mech had enough and thought it best to report this to Optimus, in person. He suddenly froze in position and let out a small gasp when he aboutfaced from his hiding spot. The imposing Ironhide, a mere two feet from Bumblebee, gazed at him without saying a word.

"You looking for something 'bee?" Asked a serious voiced Ironhide as his arms crossed over his chest.

Bumblebee glanced down at Ironhide's leg and noticed the holstered blaster pistol, then quickly drew his vision at the red mech's visage. "I...ummm,....wanted to make sure these few containers were on the cargo manifest, Ironhide."

"Yuh huh." Replied the still serious toned mech.

Bumblebee kept his mouth shut and just left, not knowing how long Ironhide was behind him stressed him alot, then add the red mech's serious tone, lack of words, and having a weapon almost overloaded 'bee's systems. This didn't sit well with Bumblebee, something was going to happen, something specifically for Optimus Prime, and Elita-One. Though he didn't know exactly what, Bumblebee knew enough to give Optimus a heads up. Just in case.

Springer, his fellow Wreckers, Chromia, and Powerglide all stared at the arm crossed Ironhide, and the retreating Bumblebee, with nobody saying a word. Springer stood up from his sitting position and made a gesture with his head at the red mech some distance away, to which Ironhide responded with a shake of his head.

"We move the timetable ahead." Said Springer after a quick contemplation. "Tell the others. We take down Prime tomorrow."


End file.
